He Gets That From Me
by B of Ericaland
Summary: AU Swan Queen:: While pursuing a bounty, fate knocks Emma Swan into the path of Regina Mills, leading her into the role of girlfriend and mother, both of which seem somehow preordained :: A STORY IN WHICH REGINA PURSUES EMMA, NOT VICE VERSA :: M rating for later chapters and SQ sexy times
1. Her Eyes

DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purposes of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: i have been wayyyyyy too busy to put any serious thought into dreamscape (though I completely promise than an update is in the works and will be coming promptly, i swear), but i really really hate not setting aside some time and writing, so this is what came of my efforts and all that jazz. it's not done yet i suppose, more chapters to come when i get another two day break from work and if there's any interest in the story. i don't know when that'll be. anyway, enjoy. please please please review if you like it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 1: Her Eyes**

Her blonde hair, falling in golden curls around her strong jaw, their feminine design softening the sharp edges of her face, whipped as her head turned back and forth; she was searching for someone. Her green eyes regarded every person in the room, sliding over them one by one as if scanning them into her brain. She was wearing tight jeans. She wore a tight brown long sleeved shirt with a dark green sweater over it, just as tight, showing off her feminine curves. She didn't look like she belonged here and no one remembered her from any of the previous meetings but it wasn't in the nature of a support group to question someone's presence in their midst. It was meant to be a safe haven, even for those who didn't belong among their ranks.

She sat at the edge of the room, close enough to not draw suspicion but far enough away to be away from the fray, a first timer. The expression on her face told that she had a mission, but also gave away that she didn't want to be here. The subtle wringing of her hands was a dead giveaway of her uncomfortability about being around people she didn't group herself with. The brief flash in her eyes confessed that, like most outsiders, she wrongly believed sadness was contagious. Because that's all outsiders saw when they looked at groups like this one. They saw despair, something to cry about. But they didn't know how much strength their was to battle the encroaching sadness. There are a million reasons to be sad, but there are also a million reasons to fight back. That's who these people were, fighters. But she didn't see that, and that more than anything labeled her as a someone else, someone not like them.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Three Hours Earlier**

"Remind me why I'm here again?" Emma Swan groaned as she drug her fingers through her unruly blonde curls. "It's my day off."

"I got a warrant for you."

Emma rolled her eyes as she regarded her boss. Gus McMurray looked like a cross between an old school police detective and an Irish mobster; Emma would hardly be surprised if both were true. He had wiry brown hair, thicker around his temples than it was anywhere else on his head and a beard to match, the brown colour spliced through with natural highlights of red that betrayed his Celtic roots. Though his accent had faded in the decades he'd been in the States, his inflection broke through whenever he was feeling anything intensely, be it anger or elation. His office, a small room at the back of a small business that looked more like a converted supply closet than a legitimate office, was only big enough to hold his desk, a couple chairs, and a file cabinet. Papers littered his desk in senseless heaps, broken only by the occasional mug of stale tea, each forgotten at some point over the past week only part way finished. There was Monday's to the right, Tuesday's to the left, Wednesday's dead center, Thursday's behind the computer monitor, and Friday's sitting on top of a stack of papers playing king of the mountain over the other mugs. Most Monday mornings, when she shuffled in at eight in the morning to open up shop before Gus arrived at nine, she'd clean up the previous week's mugs, collecting them to dump them out in the little sink next to the coffee maker and wash them out with the small bottle of Dawn she'd purchased for such occasions. She was too scared that if she didn't wash them out, he'd just dump the tea and use a dirty mug, or worse, drink the old tea from it until the mug was empty.

"It's my day off Gus. I don't do weekends you know that." She was already turning from the office, dismissing his comments. He'd tried this several times before, pleading her to work weekends. He had one other bail bondsman, a thirty year old pretty boy who was more vain than she was, who took the weekend shifts. Troy had a nine to five on the weekdays when she worked. That was fine with her considering she and Troy got along like oil and water.

"Troy's down in the Hamptons, on vacation with that puma of his."

Emma had to bite back a laugh, instead rolling her eyes. She looked back over her shoulder. "I believe the correct term is _cougar_. That botox Barbie he spends his evenings with is a cougar."

Gus grunted in acknowledgement before holding up a folder and waving it temptingly as if it were one of her favourite bear claws from Cecile's.

"Who's the mark?" She held her ground, staying in the safety of the doorway that separated his small office from the main room, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest. She wasn't going to give up her Saturday for just any easy grab.

"Our old friend Barker." He raised his eyebrows and held the folder out towards her, obviously confident she'd take it.

"Again? God, you'd think the legal system would just wise up, throw his ass in jail and bury the key." She stepped forward and grabbed the file. There was no need to flip through it. She knew Barker's rap sheet without having to look. He was a career criminal, and a repeat jumper, strictly small time which was why he had done less than a nickel of actual time behind bars. But he had a nasty habit of making friends with decent people who didn't know no better and it seems every time he came up against a new charge he had some new fool of a good Samaritan there to co-sign his bonds for him. It was that fact that made her detest Barker more than the average mark. "What's he done this time?"

"Possession. Bond was co-signed by a friend out in Brookline, a Ms. Cheryl Teague."

"Brookline?" She raised an eyebrow and even let herself look impressed for a moment. Moving on up, Barker? Brookline may not be Beacon Hill, but it definitely wasn't anything to be ashamed of. And it was definitely not a place for lowlifes like Dirk Barker. "What is he doing rubbing elbows with someone out in Brookline?"

Gus nodded towards the folder. "Sounds like the place to start. Find his connection to Cheryl Teague and you'll find him."

She groaned in frustration and turned for the door, file clutched firmly in her hand. "I get double commission on this one!"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The house of Cheryl Teague was a modest one for the typical resident of Brookline, but it was still far more lavish than anything Emma had ever lived in before. Most families with this kind of money skipped right over foster care and hopped on the fast track to adoption and she had known quite quickly in life that adoption was the unattainable dream. No one wanted a scrawny little girl with dirty blonde hair, who wore a baseball cap and torn jeans over dresses, who played stick ball in the streets with the boys from the home instead of focusing on learning her manners with the other girls. She had a loud mouth, a stubborn attitude, and a masculine demeanor and that had made her sink to the back of the pack. She had learned quite fast that she didn't have to be on top to survive, she just had to be willing to fight tooth and nail to not be last place.

That wasn't to say she hadn't longed for a family just like every other kid in the system. She had stood in line with the other kids at Woodbridge Children's Home every time a potential family had come to make the rounds. She had scrubbed her face, combed her hair, put on her Sunday dress, and given them her best smile. And every time she had been skipped over for one reason or another. Mimi's red hair and freckles were just too cute to pass up, Julie had the sweetest smile they'd ever seen, Lauren knew how to play the violin. The differences were hardly worthwhile, but for some reason it's what those parents had wanted at the time. For many years she'd just convinced herself that it would be her turn when the time was right. But with every time she was passed over, a little more doubt seeped in, dragging that lingering bitterness behind it, until one day, she stopped expecting them to pick her. She stopped scrubbing her face, stopped wearing her dress, stopped smiling hopefully at these people. Because, let's face it, who wants a surly fourteen year old with mediocre grades and the faintest hint of cigarette smoke clinging to her clothes?

Shoving down her musings over the failure that was her childhood, she walked up the brick walkway to the disgustingly cheery two story yellow house. A equally cheery harvest cornucopia hung on the door to celebrate the season. It's presence reminded her that she needed to pick up a few Christmas cards to give away to the three people in the world she actually had any interaction with: Gus, her landlady Anne, and (reluctantly) Troy. She never kept track of the holidays anymore. Her small downtown flat was just as empty as it was any other time of year, no tree, no decorations, no annoying carols on a play list on her iPod. Emma didn't do holidays; they were just a reminder that she was alone. Just like her birthday. Thanksgiving was only a week away and then Christmas would sneak in, followed closely by New Years. She was planning to be out of Boston by then, on to a new destination. She was considering someplace warmer for this move, maybe Miami.

She knocked to the side of the door, careful not to disturb the cornucopia, though the decoration's massive size made it difficult. The door swung open, revealing a woman who appeared to be just as cheery as her house. Her blonde hair was cut into a stylish bob, her beige sweater ironed, her brown slacks pressed. She looked nothing like someone who would have dealings with Barker.

"May I help you?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma accepted the cup of steaming tea the woman offered her, watching as Cheryl walked over to her own chair and sat down, smiling pleasantly. "How did you say you know Dirk?"

Emma smiled. "Oh he's an old friend." She hoped that the woman wouldn't drill her with too many questions about her connection to Dirk Barker. Emma was trained in the art of lying, her job sometimes required it, but she wasn't particularly fond of it. She'd once been lied to and subsequently betrayed and the mere act of being false now left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I haven't seen Dirk since last month's meeting. We used to go to coffee occasionally, but it dropped off a few months ago when Raymond started getting worse. Just devastated poor Dirk it did. They're so close." Cheryl shook her head sadly.

Emma had read enough of Barker's file to know that Raymond was Dirk's older brother. He lived up in Salem, but that was all she knew about him. If she truly were a friend of Barker's she would now about the news with Raymond, so instead of inquiring after that, she chose a different line of questioning. "Group? Dirk never mentioned anything about a group." She let the appropriate amount of concern cover her face as if she were worried about a friend.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry after honey. Just a monthly support group for people like Dirk and myself. In fact, our November meeting is only a little over an hour away. Why don't you come along? I'm sure Dirk could use the support and it'd be nice for him to see an old friend."

Emma's eyes lit up. This had been too easy. She almost felt bad about taking advantage of this lady's hospitality. But she hadn't built her reputation as one of the best bail bondsmen in Boston by being nice. Sometimes you had to play dirty to catch the ones who didn't want to be found.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She looked around the room trying to spot Barker. He wasn't milling about among the gathered, but she had arrived early to make sure she'd be there before he was. Better for her to see his entrance than the other way around. The sign on the door was just a taped up sheet of printer paper with boxy black letters proclaiming Support Group C. She still had no idea what it was for. Obviously it wasn't AA. Those were never held in such formal settings but in much more nondescript locales. The whole point of AA and NA was the anonymity. So what was she here supporting?

At first, no one seemed to take notice of her presence, except Cheryl, who had stopped by to give her a quick squeeze to the arm in greeting before bustling about to greet others as they filed in. She sat near the back, not wanting to intrude upon these people's privacy. She wasn't supposed to be here and she was planning to leave as soon as she could manage to get hands on her mark. But then she felt eyes on her, an intense scrutiny. Her eyes scanned the people assembled, some already seated, some milling by the table loaded down with an array of refreshments, some standing in little groups chatting about their goings on in life since the last meeting. And then she met the eyes that were regarding her so shrewdly.

The woman was one she hadn't noticed before, but she was baffled as to how she could have possibly skipped over someone so unnaturally exquisite. She was beautiful to say the least. Her hair barely grazed the tops of her shoulders, a dark mane that hugged at her neck, her eyes, just as dark had something unreadable in them, her full lips were neither smiling or frowning. She wore what looked to be a designer suit, a tight hugging pencil skirt and matching blazer in a flattering charcoal with a hint of a plum coloured silk button up underneath. Black suede pumps completed the outfit. She looked like a lawyer.

Emma met her gaze head on. She had nothing to hide and it was easier to focus on this woman and return her scrutiny than to muse on her thoughts of not belonging here. Someone approached the woman, causing her to break her concentration first. Emma felt a small irrational feeling of triumph over winning their impromptu staring contest.

"That's Regina. Don't mind her; she's critical of everyone."

Emma started and her head whipped to regard Cheryl, who had appeared right next to her without her noticing. Curse that woman, Regina, for distracting her. She glanced quickly around but noted that Barker still hadn't arrived. Good. At least she hadn't totally botched the grab. She smiled pleasantly at Cheryl. "Critical?"

"She doesn't trust easy." Cheryl shrugged as if to say 'that's just Regina'. "But if you ask me, she needs this group more than the rest of us."

Unexpectedly something in her ached for the sadness in Cheryl's eyes for Regina. She didn't even know this woman; why should she care? But her eyes turned towards the woman in the suit, still engaged in conversation with the woman who had interrupted their eye-lock a few minutes ago. Briefly, Regina's eyes flashed away from the person she was talking to and locked with Emma's once more. Another second later, they were gone. She found she missed them instantly. She turned to ask after this Regina, when over Cheryl's head, she saw Barker slink in. Crap. Showtime.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina Mills hated that she had to come here and ask for this. But she had no choice. She had to be in Boston in just a few hours. The drive itself would take almost two and a half and that was if the traffic were light. Damn the nanny for quitting at a time like this.

She sighed in resignation as she lifted her arm and knocked solidly on the door.

It swung open immediately, a stunned Mary Margaret Blanchard, coat in hand, mouth hanging agape, standing just inside. "Reg… Mayor Mills… w-what brings you here?"

Regina eyed the coat in the woman's hand and the purse slung over her shoulder with a growing sense of dread. "Did I interrupt? Were you leaving?"

"No… well, I mean, yes, but just to run down to Granny's for a bite." The schoolteacher looked torn between whether or not she should ask Regina to accompany her. Part of her didn't want to be rude, but the other part dreaded spending a whole lunch hour with the cold mayor.

Regina saved her from having to offer. "I was wondering if I could bother you to watch Henry for me. I have to go down to Boston on business and the nanny quit this morning. I asked Katherine, but she was unavailable." She didn't want to utter the next words but she knew they were the only way to cinch the deal. "You're the only other person I trust him with."

As expected, Mary Margaret melted at the compliment, especially when it came from someone who so rarely offered them. "Of course I can watch him. Is he here? Or should I watch him at your house?"

Regina glanced over the woman's head and into the shabby little excuse of a flat the woman called home. It wasn't her first choice of places for her son to spend the afternoon, but it was clean and adequate enough. "He's down in the car. I'll go retrieve him." She turned to go back down the stairs and get Henry. She paused on the top step without turning around. "Thank you Miss Blanchard." She didn't wait for a response, but continued down without turning back.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

On the 95, cruising down towards the New Hampshire border, she let her mind drift over the past five years with Henry. Her little man was growing up so fast, almost too fast for her to keep up. It seemed only yesterday that Mr. Gold was placing the little bundle into her arms, telling her that he belonged to her now. She had always longed to be a mother, but never once had she considered it possible. Things like adoption and surrogacy had always been foreign concepts to her; she'd never considered them options. But then… it was actually a conversation she had overheard one day in the diner between Mary Margaret Blanchard and the diner's waitress Ruby Lucas, that had originally drawn her interest to the subject. Miss Blanchard had been discussing her suspicions that Paige, a girl at Storybrooke Elementary, was adopted. The story was true of course; though the girl's biological father lived in a mansion, bigger even than Regina's own, on the outskirts of town, her biological mother was long dead and the girl lived with an adoptive family.

Regina had immediately began looking into adoption to find a child of her own. It hadn't taken as long as she imagined it did for the normal individual. She had a useful habit of getting what she wanted, and had a begrudging ally in Mr. Gold, who happened to be quite adept at procuring things desired by others. Within three months, she had opened the door to find Henry, wrapped in a fuzzy light blue blanket, blinking up at her with his beautiful green eyes, in the arms of the pawnbroker. She had never believed she would love again until that moment. But when she looked down into his little face, she'd been born again. In that moment, her world stopped revolving around herself and began orbiting around him.

She wiped the tears of the memories from her eyes before they could make their way down her cheeks and ruin her carefully applied make up. It wouldn't do to let everyone at group see her so distraught. She was the stoic one there, resolute and unmovable in the face of everyone else's sob stories. She wasn't truly sure why she kept showing up every month. All she knew was that the one time she had dared to miss it since she first started going was a time she regretted. There was something she liked about the anonymity of it. Sure, everyone there knew her by name; she had never tried to hide her identity, it wasn't that kind of group. But no one else lived so far away; she was the only out of state attendee. She wasn't sure, if this were Storybrooke, if it were all the people she lorded over as part of her job on a daily basis, she'd be able to open up as much as she did here. There was safety in them not knowing her.

She was one of the first three to arrive despite her late start leaving Maine. Traffic had been blessedly light on this Saturday afternoon. She gave a brief nod of greeting to the other early birds and dropped her purse on her usual seat, first row second seat in, before she went to the refreshment table and poured herself a cup of the bitter excuse for coffee that was provided. She drank it absentmindedly, having become immune to the taste long ago. People were filing again and her eyes swiped over them with a cursory interest. It was the same faces; it was always the same faces.

She looked over her at first, walking in and heading straight for that obsessively bright Cheryl Teague. The woman needed to hurry up and choke on a rainbow already. She was sweet, but cloyingly so, not a mean bone in her body. If there was one thing Regina couldn't take, especially here, it was unending optimism. But this new woman, the one who seemed to know Cheryl was something new. She was pretty, though not in the conventional sense. There was a darkness that hung around her that called to something in Regina. It wasn't the normal mist of melancholy that brought them all here monthly to commiserate together, no, this was something unique, like a signature scent in a room of generic perfume. This woman wasn't like them, but there was a sadness to her that was all its own.

She hadn't noticed she'd been staring until green eyes met hers across the room of people. The woman had caught her. No matter. She could care less if this blonde outsider knew that she was being observed. She met the gaze without flinching, daring the woman with her glare. She couldn't quite name the pleasure that suffused her when the woman didn't turn away. She stared back just as unflinchingly. It wasn't often Regina met a worthy opponent; Storybrooke's citizens had been under her thumb for too long to question her and the people here weren't exactly known for their ruthless natures. This was a promising development to a day that had begun mediocre at best.

"Regina." Reluctantly she broke her gaze first to nod in greeting to Gabrielle, their group organizer, trying to keep the girl from seeing her annoyance at having her little competition interrupted. Keen to get back to it, she turned her full attention to the petite brunette nurse in an effort to dispose of her attention faster.

She paid attention with only one ear, her eyes drifting over the small girl's shoulder and back to the blonde, who was engaged in an animated one-sided, as it most always was, conversation with Cheryl. The blonde looked thoughtful and Regina found herself wondering where those thoughts were. Green eyes, as if sensing her gaze, met hers once more, and she found herself looking back to Gabrielle, willing the girl to finish quickly so she could get back to surveying this new presence.

"Thanks Regina." She nodded, not entirely sure what she was being thanked for, but not really caring at the moment. There was just enough time to resume her little game with the blonde.

But as Gabrielle wandered away and Regina was able to turn her full attention back to the blonde, she saw that the woman's attention had been dragged elsewhere. She was staring intently at Dirk Barker, a lowlife of a man who Regina refused to associate with. He stumbled into their little meetings from time to time but she never paid him much mind. He wasn't good people. Why would the blonde care about him? She may not be high class, but she was obviously cut from better cloth than the likes of Dirk Barker.

"Can everyone please take their seats?" Gabrielle called out from the front of the room.

Regina tossed away her empty foam cup and went to her seat, keeping the blonde in her peripherals until she sat down and could no longer get a good vantage point. There was something about this woman that just begged her attention and, in that moment, she made a plan to seek the blonde out after group and find out exactly what that something was.

She was too distracted to notice Gabrielle looking right at her as she spoke. "Regina has very graciously agreed to be the first to speak today, so let's give her a round of applause."

Every muscle in Regina's body froze. Now Gabrielle thanking her made perfect sense. If she thought back, she could almost hear the woman suggesting that she open the meeting today, and she remembered her almost imperceptible nod as her mind had been distractedly on the blonde. Just perfect. She took a deep breath and stood, walking up to take Gabrielle's place at the front of the room. The only thing that made this even the least bit gratifying was seeing a pair of green irises that were focused solely on her like a spotlight. For some inexplicable reason, she felt like that's the only place she wanted them to be.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Barker sat in the row ahead of her and three seats down, just the perfect spot to keep him in her peripherals while giving her free reign to stare at the back of the head of the woman five rows in front of her. After ten minutes of the small mousy brunette nurse whose name she'd already forgotten droning on, she was certain she'd memorized every hair on the back of Regina's head, the way her shoulders sloped, the way she rolled her neck every minute or so to loosen the kinks. She shook her head to rid them of thoughts she should not be having for a woman she hadn't even met yet.

Then she heard the nurse call Regina's name. Barker forgotten, her attention snapped solely to the brunette as she stood and went to the front of the room. She scanned the crowd, pausing only briefly to meet Emma's eyes before she spoke. "My name is Regina. I've been coming here for three years now and most of you already are familiar with why I'm here, but for those of you who aren't…" Her eyes locked with Emma's, this time holding the gaze once again. "I started coming here after I found out my son Henry has leukaemia. It developed when he was three."

Emma could tell by the rigidness in the woman's posture and the swift effective delivery of her words that this was a pre-programmed version of her, her brain on autopilot. She wasn't feeling her words, wasn't connecting with them, merely stating facts as if she were reading them off a page. It broke her heart just a little to watch someone obviously as strong as Regina go through this. The brunette kept the rest of it very brief, just stating that her son was currently still undergoing treatment but things were looking up and thanking everyone for their continued support. She sat down.

Emma had never considered that this might be a cancer support group. That was definitely far from the realm of possibility that had crossed her mind, but it made sense. She had known that Raymond Barker was sick, that's when Dirk's criminal activity had really started to pick up, but she hadn't known it was cancer. Regina's words had affected her deeply. To think that woman, who looked the picture of put together on the outside, was dealing with a sick kid on the inside. Emma couldn't even bring herself to deal with her healthy kid when he'd been placed in her arms, she couldn't even imagine what Regina must go through on a daily basis.

The nurse, Gabrielle, was back at the front of the room, asking if anyone else wanted to bravely share any news. She wasn't sure what came over her. Maybe it was because Regina had just opened up, in part she felt for her benefit, and she wanted to repay the kindness. Maybe she was just intent on embarrassing herself. But she raised her hand. When Gabrielle beckoned her up, she shuffled slowly to the front of the room. She'd never been very good at public speaking, but she wasn't awful. Still, this story was personal, something she hadn't shared with anyone outside of those who'd been present. But it's all she had to offer these people, all she had to offer **her**.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the crowd, expertly avoiding the one set of eyes she desperately wanted to look into. "My name is Emma." She paused, almost expecting them to do the 'hi Emma' typical of AA/NA, before continuing. "I don't know much about my family, they bailed when I was young. But I did have this one foster mom. She was nice to me; she never cared that I didn't wear dresses or play with dolls. She never tried to make me something I wasn't. In a way, she was the only mom I ever really had, the only one that mattered anyway." She wrung her hands in front of herself. "I had only been with her about five months when she was diagnosed. She said she wanted to adopt me, but they said she couldn't until she went into remission." Emma closed her eyes at the memory, the one time in her childhood she could ever remember being truly happy. "She fought really hard, but they… it was just caught too late. One day she went into the hospital and they sent me to stay with a lady from social services until she got out. I never saw her again." She looked up and her eyes locked with Barker's. She saw recognition dawn on his features and he got up, scooting out of his row and heading for the door. She was about to lose her chance.

She tossed one look at Regina, meeting her eyes for the briefest of seconds. "I'm sorry, excuse me." She ran from the room, hoping she hadn't lost her shot at Barker.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Another one bites the dust. I knew I could count on you Swan." Gus slapped her on the back as she set the completed paperwork on his desk five minutes before close of business day.

"Yeah, yeah." She didn't even spare him a smile.

"What's wrong with you? You look like someone shot your cat."

She shook off his concern. "I told you Gus, I don't work Saturdays. Keep that in mind from now on." She turned from her boss and headed out of the office to enjoy what was left of her weekend.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina drove home feeling more resigned than usual. The woman, Emma- the name bounced pleasantly around her head as if it belonged there- had rushed out before Regina could stop her. She had looked so vulnerable standing up there before a group of strangers. Regina was far from an expert at sharing personal things, but she could tell by the blonde's body language that that story had not been something she shared with just anyone. It had made her eager to hear it. And, even more confusing, by the end of it, she had wanted nothing more than to hug the woman, to tell her everything would be alright, she was safe now. The only time she'd ever had feelings of that nature was towards her son.

She had only lingered for a few minutes of indecision before following after her. But when she'd reached the front of the building, the woman had been gone, along with the foreign yellow bug she'd never seen before that she'd noticed on the way in. It must have been Emma's car, which meant she was gone.

She had called ahead before leaving Boston, warning Miss Blanchard that she'd be late getting home. She'd instructed the teacher to take Henry back to her home and put him to bed, that she would be home as soon as traffic would allow. Mary Margaret had been surprisingly accommodating. She'd have to remember to get the woman something nice for Christmas to make up for the impromptu babysitting job.

Now, as she crossed the Maine state line, she found herself wondering if she would ever seen Emma again. It wasn't likely. She didn't expect to see the blonde at the next meeting after her run out in the middle. And she didn't live in Boston, so the likelihood of them running into each other by accident was slim. For reasons unknown to her, the idea of never seeing Emma again filled her with a dull ache. It was ridiculous; she barely knew the woman. But, she mused somberly, she wanted to. And that made all the difference.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It was dark out when she finally pulled into the garage. The snow wasn't sticking to the ground quite yet, more of a wet slush, but it would be soon. She sighed and got out of her black Mercedes, pulling her wool coat tighter around herself to ward off the chill that wasn't completely to be blamed on the air. She paused at the garage door, before crossing the small car port that would lead to the kitchen corridor, to take a deep breath, like she did most days when she got home. Just a cleansing breath to prepare her for whatever she might walk into. Henry was a blessing, and always so well behaved, but he was only five and far from able to quite comprehend what was happening to his body. He understood he was sick and he understood that this was something that would follow him for as long as he lived. He knew his diagnosis and listened carefully to everything the doctor's said. Despite only being in kindergarten, he already knew more about the world than any other child his age; he'd been forced to grow up so fast. She had made a point never to try and hide anything about his condition from him if it could be avoided. But that didn't mean he fully grasped why this was happening to him. She never knew when it had been a bad day.

Steeling herself, she ran across the small carport to the side door, letting herself into a silent house. She hung her scarf and coat on the rack in the kitchen corridor before making her way into the big black and white kitchen. All was dark. She walked past it and into the foyer, going immediately up the stairs and straight for Henry's room. She opened the door to find her baby boy sleeping, a small frown on his face. She crossed the room and tucked his blanket tighter around him, pressing a soft kiss to his crinkled forehead. He was too young to be so worried all the time. As her lips left his skin, even in sleep, he visibly relaxed as if somehow sensing that momma was finally home; she'd come back to him. She crept back out of the room and down the stairs, content to find Mary Margaret Blanchard now that she knew her little man was fine.

She found the woman in the parlour, waiting for her return on one of the couches.

"Would you care for a drink Miss Blanchard?"

Mary Margaret started, not having heard her come in. She shook her head. "No thank you, I still have to drive home. But feel free…"

Regina didn't need the permission, but she gave an incline of her head in acknowledgment anyway and moved to the crystal decanter at the sidebar to pour herself a generous glass of cider. It felt good burning down her throat as she took a deep swallow to unwind from the day.

"How was your meeting?"

She glanced over her shoulder at the pixie brunette behind her. "It was… unexpected."

"You seem… happier somehow than when you left." Mary Margaret looked unsure as if maybe she had overstepped her bounds by saying so.

"I… there was someone in attendance who affected me. She left before we could properly make each other's acquaintance. I do not believe I will ever see her again." She moved to sit down on the couch across from the other woman.

"Do you want to? See her again, I mean."

Regina wasn't sure why she was opening up to the woman who she'd loathed all these years. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a conversation with Miss Blanchard that didn't have a distinct undertone of menace to it. It felt almost… nice to talk with her like this. "Have you ever felt that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you're forgetting something Miss Blanchard? It's like the memory is just centimetres out of your reach, but no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to grab hold of it?"

The schoolteacher nodded. "Everyday of my life."

Regina sighed. "I'd been feeling like that for so long that I'd almost forgotten it was there. But then… I looked into her eyes and I… it was as if I were remembering what I'd forgotten. My first thought was 'oh there you are'." She chuckled humourlessly. "That sounds completely ridiculous."

"No, it sounds serendipitous."

Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes. Leave it to the hopeless romantic that was Mary Margaret Blanchard to call it serendipity.

Mary Margaret stood as if she somehow sensed that she was about to overstay her welcome. "Henry had a good day. He kept mumbling about how he could feel change in the air. I just thought it was a by-product of the three times in a row he insisted we watch Mary Poppins, but maybe it was something else." She moved to the door. "She might surprise you Mayor Mills and show up when you least expect it. Who knows? Maybe you'll see her next month. Have a good night." She disappeared out the parlour door and a second later, Regina heard the front door open and close softly.

She sat back on the couch, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, clenching the glass tumbler in her hand. This whole day had been more than she'd ever thought it was going to be when she opened her eyes this morning. Time would tell if it had been a good thing or not. She refused to hope to see the blonde again. The chances were slim and betting against the odds was not in her nature.

But as Regina Mills turned off the parlour lights, ascended the stairs, and crawled into bed that night… she hoped.


	2. Secret Santa

DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: I'm keeping whether or not the curse is in existence in this story a secret for now on purpose. it will be confirmed or denied soon enough. this story is very personal to me and i'm glad everyone seems to like it. enjoy and review.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter Two: Secret Santa**

Emma turned over for the ten billionth time that night. She hadn't been sleeping well recently. Not since the Saturday when she'd been to that support group. Two and a half weeks ago.

It had shaken her up more than she'd ever care to admit. She had exposed her history to a room full of strangers. And she wasn't even sure why she'd done it. Well that wasn't entirely true. It had been because of _her_. Regina and her story and those brown eyes that saw too much but still wanted more.

She'd been haunted by those eyes every day since. Never had she been so instantly taken with someone. She'd been everywhere... her life had been lived from one city to the next, no more than six months in any one place. That was her self-imposed limit. At first she had told herself it was just a deep desire to explore but as the years passed and her desperation only grew, she'd finally saw it for what it was. She was trying to outrun her past.

It had started before Lillian had died. She could trace it back to that backwoods diner in the middle of nowhere Maine. The place she'd been left by her parents. They didn't know her origin, so she was registered as being American, born in the state of Maine, though truthfully, the diner hadn't been far from the Quebec border. She might be Canadian for all she knew. For all anybody knew.

She tried to find them once, her parents, but the search had been pointless. Her story began with that diner. There was nothing before that, nowhere to go from there. She'd questioned the entire staff who'd been working the small diner that day, even going as far as to track one waitress to Miami, where she had retired with her husband. Nothing. All anyone would tell her was that a small boy had come in, carrying her in her baby blanket. He'd said their parents had left them in the woods around the diner. When the staff had questioned him about their names, he'd told them she was Emma but he'd been reluctant to provide his own. Her name was hardly arguable, considering it was embroidered on the blanket she'd been wrapped in.

She and the boy, who she later found out was named August, were placed together in a group home in Maine, but August ran away after only a month. No one could tell her what had become of the boy who could easily be her brother and the only person who knew anything at all about her parents. She had tried to track him herself but the trail had been over two decades old by that point, long gone cold. She had a knack for tracking, a magnificent talent really, but even she was not a miracle worker. Even she couldn't make a trail appear where there was none.

Her parents were the first to abandon her, then August, then Lillian... people who were supposed to love her always left. _That's_ why she ran. She was now a master at it. No one could leave you if you were already on your way out the door.

She turned again, sighing in frustration. In the darkness of her bedroom she saw those brown eyes again. Her gaze moved to the clock. 4:26. She wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. She pushed the covers off, instantly regretting it as the winter chilled air in the flat assaulted her bare skin, sending up a painful prickling of goosebumps like her skin's personal flag of surrender to the cold. She forced herself to get up and walk to the bathroom, turning on the shower to steaming hot. The good thing about starting her day before the sun was even up was that she got first dibs on the building's hot water supply. Her landlady did her best to keep the pipes and water heater running smoothly but the truth of the matter was that it was an old building. There was no elevator in the six story brick run down building, graffiti covered every spare space of wall on the alley below her fire escape. It had personality, it had history, but one thing it didn't have was an unlimited supply of hot water.

She grabbed her towel from the basket of clean laundry she'd brought up from the basement the night before but had yet to fold and carried it into the bathroom, shutting the door. Steam poured from the shower as she stripped. The spray stung at first as she stepped under it, but after the initial shock wore off, she felt the heat begin to soothe her. It was like an embrace to her aching bones and sore muscles. She'd been throwing herself into work lately, getting as much money as she could before she put Boston behind her. She washed her hair before grabbing the soap and lathering it into a wash cloth, running the soaped cloth over her skin. Her eyes slipped shut.

The sound of the curtain being pulled aside caused her to open them again. Regina stood there, naked as the day she was born. Emma couldn't form words. How had she found her? How had she gotten into the flat without a key? Why was she naked? She couldn't bring herself to force a single one of these questions through her lips.

Regina stepped into the shower with her, pressing her back against the tiled wall with a warm hand placed delicately against the valley between her breasts. Emma felt her back against the cool tiles as Regina stepped in incredibly close and it was all the blonde could do to remember how to breathe. She looked down between their bodies as she felt Regina's hand slip slowly southward, gliding across her abdomen, heading for the spot between her thighs. Her heart seemed to pound more and more the closer the brunette's hand came to its destination. It was almost there...

Emma shot up, nearly falling as she was startled away from the cool tiles where she'd accidentally nodded off. The dream still left heat trailing across her skin and, not for the first time in the last two weeks, she felt herself missing the brunette more than she'd ever admit. And they hadn't even met yet.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Emma dear, I'm so glad you called." Cheryl sat down next to her at the kitchen table, setting down their tea. She was just as perky as always, dressed in a gaudy holiday sweater and mom jeans. She appeared to be about forty five, unmarried and childless. All the photos Emma had noticed around the house, what few there were, just depicted Cheryl and another blonde woman who so closely resembled her that they must be sisters. Cheryl smiled. "I thought I wouldn't hear from you again after last month's meeting. I had no idea you'd lost someone too." She look sympathetic. "Sometimes the group can be a healing place but I know it's not always that way for everyone."

Emma sipped her tea. "I was a little caught off guard by the whole thing."

"That's understandable. I wish you could have stuck around though. You missed the secret santa drawing."

"The what?"

Cheryl got up and moved to the fridge where she removed two identical green rectangles the size of index cards from beneath two magnets shaped like sunflowers. She brought them back to the table and took her seat again. "At the end of our November meeting we always pick out secret santa names." She handed over the slips.

"How come you have two?"

Cheryl shrugged dismissively. "Mrs. Riley can't really afford a gift, all the poor dear's free money goes to feeding all those kids, she has six you know. And after losing her husband to lung cancer last year... So I always offer to take her pick along with my own."

Emma looked at the names on the two slips. Gabrielle Burton and Regina Mills. Her heart stuttered. Regina.

"Regina is a hard one. I got my work cut out for me this year. What do you get a woman who can afford anything?"

Emma was still focused on the small slip, filled out in Regina's own flowing script. It listed the basics of a secret santa: her likes and dislikes, her age (not too much older than Emma herself, she noted), more than she'd known about the woman mere moments before. An idea struck her then. Somehow she knew the perfect gift. "Can I take hers off your hands then? I'd like to participate and it would take the stress of finding her a gift off your shoulders."

"Oh you don't have to do that honey."

"Believe me, I want to."

She spent another hour chatting with Cheryl, finding that once she got past the repelling nature of the perkiness, she was actually a very decent person to talk to. She left with her green slip of paper and all the info on the next meeting tucked safely away in her pocket.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina nursed her coffee as she stared out the dining room window to her honeycrisp apple tree in the backyard. A light dusting of snow covered its branches. It looked like it was bound to be another white Christmas. She turned from the window and moved out of the dining room and into the great room where their tall tree stood, impeccably decorated as always, in the front window. She smiled at it fondly. Henry had helped her decorate it the Sunday before, making it halfway through before his energy had finally left him. He was getting tired so easily for a boy of his age; he should have more energy. She took a painstaking amount of time and effort to shield her son from feeling different than normal five year olds. He wasn't like kids his age. She kept him sheltered; it was easy to do in a town as small as Storybrooke.

Her eyes flashed to the form, small for his age, laying huddled under four blankets on the couch. It had been a bad night for her little boy. He had gotten sick the previous evening. She had sat up, holding him through the worst of it in the light of the tree. Finally, at four this morning, he had finally found peace enough to sleep.

She walked over and brushed his brown hair out of his face. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. It was still hot from his fever but he felt as if he was improving.

He grunted and snuggled in closer to her. Even in sleep he wanted to be near her. He'd always been her little man, needing her more than anyone in her life ever had. It felt good, more than she'd ever expected it would, to be needed.

She smiled and headed back towards the foyer.

"Momma?"

She turned back towards the couch to see hazel eyes staring sleepily back at her. "Hey sweetheart. Did I wake you?" She crossed the room, setting down her coffee mug on the table and sitting beside him.

He crawled up out of his blankets and into her lap. His little arms wrapped firmly around her neck and he snuggled against her. "I'm sorry Momma."

"Oh sweetheart, for what?" She rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"For keeping you up again."

"It's nothing sweetheart, don't worry about it." She rocked him gently as she continued rubbing her circles. She was tired, that couldn't be denied, but whatever ill she suffered at the hands of caring for her son was nothing compared to the savagery his own body put him through on a daily basis. So she'd take her sleepless nights without complaint if it meant that he suffered just a little less.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She was loathe to leave him, even if it was just for the day. Katherine would take excellent care of him; she'd watched him more than anyone besides Regina herself. But after his apology the morning before followed by another bad day and even worse night, she had decided to skip her trip to Boston for the group. But Henry and Katherine had been adamant; they'd drag her down there themselves if they had to. Finally she had given up the fight and agreed to go.

In truth she was excited about today's meeting. She had no idea if the blonde would return but it was definitely her best shot at seeing Emma again, of getting to know her. It was a new concept for Regina, being this interested in finding out about someone she barely knew but there was just something about Emma, something that demanded a closer look. She could only hope that Emma felt the same draw towards her and that that pull would convince the blonde to return to the support group.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She walked across the slushy sidewalk towards the medical center where the support group held its meetings. It was only about 3 km from her apartment. The bug had decided to take a day off and she'd been forced to bundle up and brave the elements if she wanted to deliver her secret santa gift. She'd just get there, drop it off, and leave. That was the plan.

The room was empty when she entered. She had expected it to be. She was an hour early. The meeting room looked just as it had in November, with one exception. In the front right hand corner of the room stood a small four foot Christmas tree, decorated merrily in popcorn strands, twinkling coloured lights, and ornaments of silver and gold. An angel on top watched over the room, a stoic guardian sent to give peace to the grieving people within these four walls.

"It's not much, but I think it's rather beautiful."

Emma turned to see the petite brunette nurse from last month standing in the doorway. She wore a wool coat over some lavender scrubs and a scarf wrapped around her neck to keep her warm but her white complexion was still reddened by the chill. "Yes, it is."

"I didn't think you'd come back. I'm Gabrielle Burton, Gaby. I work in the oncology department at the hospital and I also run this group." She pulled off a glove and offered her hand. Emma shook it with her own gloved hand, the one not holding the small gift. "Emma Swan. And I'm not back. I just came to deliver this." She held up the small wrapped box with the card sized envelope taped securely to it. "It's for Regina, for the secret santa. Cheryl had two and I took one off her hands." She wasn't sure why she felt a need to explain herself to this woman.

Gaby nodded. "Well you're welcome to stay. Everyone was concerned when you left so abruptly last time. This is a safe place Emma. We're not here to judge what you've gone through or who you are because of it. Regina went after you to tell you that but she said you'd already left."

Emma felt her resolve not to stay breaking. "She went after me?"

Gaby smiled and nodded. "She was concerned about you. Honestly, I've never seen her so concerned about anyone but Henry in the two years I've known her."

Emma forced herself to shake off the warm feelings. She couldn't stay. She couldn't let herself form attachments, not when it was almost time to leave Boston. It wouldn't do to care about people one moment and leave them the next. She held the package towards Gabrielle. "I can't stay. I'm sorry. Will you see that she gets this?"

The petite brunette nodded, taking the package almost reluctantly. "Of course."

Emma smiled her thanks and moved past the nurse.

"Group starts in fifty minutes Emma; you're welcome to join us if you change your mind. We'd love to have you."

Emma looked over her shoulder apologetically. "Thanks but I can't."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

As always, she was one of the first to arrive. She tried to convince herself she wasn't searching for the ugly yellow bug as her eyes scanned the assembled cars but she couldn't deny the pang of disappointment she felt when she didn't see it. She entered the cancer center on the opposite side of the medical complex from the hospital and navigated the hallways with expert ease until she reached the classroom where the group was being held.

Gabrielle, who was setting up the refreshment table, saw her first and immediately came over to greet her. "Regina, you're here."

Regina handed over a large tray covered in plastic wrap. "Henry and I made brownies for everyone."

Gaby smiled and took the tray, heading back in the direction of the refreshment table.

Regina carried her secret santa gift, a new coin for Mr. Horowitz to add to his collection, purchased in Mr. Gold's shop back in Storybrooke, to the small tree in the corner. The pawnbroker had assured her it was rare and that the man wouldn't already have one. As she crouched down to place it under the tree her eyes caught sight of a small box, taped to a card with her name on it, written in a hand almost as elegant as her own. She looked up. Only Mr. Mitzen and Gabrielle were in the room with her. There were two other presents under the tree, four total, but only three in the room. Curious, she went over to Gaby. "Who else is here?"

Gaby looked confused by the question. "Just you, me, and Carl."

"But there are four gifts under the tree."

Gaby glanced towards the tree. "Yes well, someone dropped by to deliver one, but she couldn't stay." The nurse's tone begged her not to ask further but she was not one to heed people's wishes.

"Was it Emma?"

Gaby's eyes told her the answer.

Regina felt her curiosity about the blonde only grow. Why come just to drop a gift off? Why hadn't she stayed? That transitioned easily into disappointment when she realised she wouldn't see her. The blonde was long gone by now. The closest Regina would get to Emma was sitting twenty feet away under a tree with her name on it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She had been pacing the hospital gardens that separated the main hospital from the cancer research center where the groups were held. The path weaved around fountains, shut down for the season so the water wouldn't freeze. A light dusting of frost peppered the roses and flowers in bloom around the path. It was a peaceful place, but Emma was feeling no peace.

The meeting had already begun; it was past the top of the hour. She had convinced herself it was because of the cold. She didn't want to walk home the 3 km in the freezing air. But then she had found herself pacing the outdoor garden, rendering her argument rather groundless.

She was still here because it's where Regina was. Just like she had offered to unburden Cheryl of one of her secret santa picks because Regina's name had been on the slip. The woman was under her skin, had been since the moment their eyes had met. She had a feeling that Regina was going to remain there until she bit the bullet and talked to the woman. Once she spoke to her and found out that she wasn't something to be amazed by or, the more likely scenario, that Regina herself would decide Emma wasn't worthy of her time, then she could move on with her life as if they'd never crossed each others path. She turned and went back inside, her mind made up.

A man was mid-story as she slipped into the back. Gabrielle caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile. She slipped into the closest empty seat and focused on the speaker.

It was only ten minutes later that the gifts were passed out. Knowing she wouldn't receive one, she went straight to the refreshment table, hoping some caffeine would steel her nerves. She poured some of the lukewarm coffee into a cup and took a sip, nearly spitting it back out. The stuff was ghastly. She tossed it out just as she saw Regina open her card.

From her vantage point she couldn't see the brunette's expression but she didn't seem dismayed. She didn't seem to be reacting at all.

Emma decided to take a chance. What could it hurt? She scribbled a quick note to Regina and walked over to Cheryl. She knew she could trust the older blonde woman to deliver it safely.

"Hey Cheryl, I'm in kind of a rush. I was wondering if you could do me a favour and give this to Regina for me?" She held up the note.

Cheryl waved it off as if it were nothing. "Oh sure honey, not a problem."

"Thanks, you're a life saver." She gave the woman her best smile and then was out the door.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The minutes of the meeting seemed to drag by for the first time Regina could remember. Every other minute her eyes could drift back to the tree, zeroing in on the present with her name on it. What could Emma have possibly gotten her? It was small and square, anything could be in that box and her mind burned with the possibilities. Emma knew even less about her than anyone else here. How could she get a gift for her? Had she even signed up for the secret santa? No, she'd been long gone by then.

Finally Gaby turned on the Christmas carols and began to pass out the gifts. The rest of the meeting was for eating, partying, and mingling, which for once Regina wasn't dreading.

Gaby placed the package in her hands knowingly.

Regina stared down at it. She'd been dying to open it and now was her chance. She set the small box, the size of her palm and wrapped in snowflake wrapping paper, onto the empty seat next to her. She slid her nail along the seam of the envelope, breaking it. Her hands were almost shaking as she pulled out the card. The front was a picture of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet building a snowman. Across the top it said _Memories are best built together_. She opened it. Inside the card in the center of the right side, there was a simple message of _Happy Holidays_. On the left side, the blank side, was a handwritten note.

_Regina-_

_It was speculated that you were not a desirable pick because you'd be more difficult to shop for. What do you get someone (at a reasonable price) who can get it for herself? But the second I heard your story and then saw your slip, I knew the perfect thing to get you. It wasn't really wrappable, sorry, but I've made two donations, one to St. Jude's Children's Hospital and another to the Make A Wish Foundation, both in Henry's name. In the box is just a little tangible proof if you will, a way that he and you can remember it by. I hope I got it right._

_-ES_

Regina set the card and picked up the small wrapped box. Now her hands really were shaking. Slowly she peeled the wrapping paper off until a little white box was revealed. She lifted the lid and pushed back the flaps of tissue paper to reveal an ornament. It was a ceramic blue star with the name **Henry** printed on it. She picked it up, turning it over in her hand. On the back it said I helped make someone's wish come true. Henry would love it. She loved it. She wouldn't cry here, not with all these people around but she felt the sting of the unshed tears in her eyes. How did this woman know her so well?

"Regina?"

She looked up and saw Cheryl standing before her, holding out a slip of paper to her.

"Emma asked me to give you this before she left."

Emma had been here? How had she not noticed? She took the paper. "Thank you."

As soon as Cheryl was gone she read the note, written in the same hand as the card. _Have you tried the coffee here? It's AWFUL!_ She laughed at how true the statement was before she continued reading. _Care to join me for some Starbucks? There's one up the street. 15 minutes._

Regina didn't hesitate. She closed up the little white box with the ornament, tucked it and the card into her purse, and said her goodbyes. Then she was out the door and off to meet Emma.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

When she walked into Starbucks, the place was crowded, people milling about waiting for their lattes despite the crappy weather outside. In the press of bodies she didn't see her at first but she _felt_ her. She craned her neck, sweeping her gaze from side to side to look for the blonde. Finally, her eyes met green across the room. Emma had managed to snag one of the small two seater tables in a corner. Two cups sat on the table before her and she was motioning Regina over.

Regina pushed her way through the throng of caffeine junkies until she was standing on the opposite side of the table from the blonde. She fell into the empty seat.

Emma motioned to the cup she wasn't drinking from. "I got you a coffee. Black, double shot."

"How did you know what I drink?"

"I didn't." Emma shrugged, choosing not to answer further. She had no answer. She'd just fired it off to the Barista like she'd been ordering it her whole life.

Regina took a sip from the hot cup and sighed gratefully. It was a welcome reprieve from the bitter liquid they served in group. "Thank you Miss Swan."

"Call me Emma." Emma ran a finger absentmindedly over her coffee cup's rim.

"You left so abruptly last meeting that I didn't get a chance to properly introduce myself."

Something flashed briefly across the blonde's eyes. It looked almost like regret. "There was a... thing with work that I couldn't miss. I didn't want to leave so quickly."

Regina crossed her legs and sat back. "And what is it you do?"

"I'm in the business of finding things, namely people."

"So you came to group to find someone?" At Emma's nod she continued. "Did you find who you were looking for?"

A smile turned up the corners of Emma's mouth in a private joke. "You have no idea."

Regina couldn't help the small smile that graced her face as she took a tentative sip of her coffee. The implications of Emma's statement filled her with a warmth that had nothing to do with the hot coffee.

"Are you not from around here? I know Cheryl mentioned you having to drive down to come to the meetings."

"I live in Maine, on the coast, up past Portland."

Emma's eyebrows shot up. She... her diner was in that general vicinity. What an odd coincidence. "Lived there long?"

"All my days on this Earth." Regina nodded. "What about you Emma? Are you a Boston native?"

Emma snorted. "Hardly. I moved here five months ago from Nashville."

"You're from Tennessee?" Now it was Regina's eyebrow that was raising.

"Most recently. Originally, no."

"What made you leave Nashville?"

"Too much country music."

Regina laughed and Emma was quite sure it was the most magical sound she'd ever heard.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

They had spent nearly three hours talking before they emerged once more into the chilly evening air. They set off back towards the hospital and the cancer center on its other side. For a few long moments, neither of them spoke, content in their companionable silence. Never had either been so relaxed in another person's presence and they were both willing to take a moment to bask in the feeling.

"Thank you Emma, for the coffee, and for the conversation. It isn't often I find myself in such good company."

"You are very welcome. I'm glad you came."

By an unspoken agreement, they hadn't talked about the secret santa gift. Neither woman was used to emotional displays of gratitude. It was better to leave the appreciation just unsaid.

They stopped beside Regina's black Mercedes. The temperature had dropped below freezing while they were in the coffee shop and both woman stepped instinctively closer together, pulling their coats tight against the chill and huddling for the added body heat.

"Where's your car?" Regina looked around but still didn't spot the ghastly yellow bug.

"Oh, it's not here. I walked over from my flat."

"You_ walked_? In this weather?"

Emma nodded. "It's not that far." She looked up at the evening sky. "I better get going if I want to get home at a decent hour."

Regina reached out and grabbed Emma's forearm. "Get in." She gestured towards the Mercedes with her head. "I'll give you a ride."

"That's not necessary. It's really not that far. I can..."

"I know you can, but I don't want you to." Regina stated it as a simple fact. She let go of Emma's arm and got into the car, obviously expecting Emma to follow.

With a sigh Emma went around to the passenger door and slid down into the warm leather interior. She closed the door and huddled her body into the seat, trying to make herself smaller. She didn't belong in something this fancy; it wasn't her world. She mumbled off directions to her flat and turned to the window, content to be silent for the whole ride.

A warm hand enveloped hers, pulling it over and into the lap of the woman beside her. A quick squeeze of her hand caused Emma's head to whip around to look at Regina and the hand holding hers. It took a moment, but finally she let her smile come.

Regina returned the smile but released her hand so she could put the car in gear and drive.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It seemed way too soon before they pulled up in front of Emma's building. She looked at the weathered door with a frown. "This is me." She didn't want to leave. She hesitated with her hand on the door, her stomach sinking as she knew she would probably never see Regina again. Leaving Boston was necessary. But she had never found herself with a reason to stay. Until now.

"Thank you, Regina." She opened her door.

"Emma."

The blonde turned back around.

"You'll come in January, right?"

Emma didn't want to lie. But somehow it seemed cruel to tell Regina that she wouldn't be around anymore. "I'll try."

Regina pursed her lips. "Will I ever see you again?"

Emma smiled. "I'm sure our paths will cross again."

Regina stared into Emma's eyes for a long moment before leaning in and kissing the blonde softly.

It was short, but it was perfect. As Emma pulled back she felt her heart breaking.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Thank you for watching him Katherine." Regina stood with the blonde on the front stoop. Over an inch of fresh snow had blanketed the small sleepy town while she'd been away in Massachusetts.

Katherine smiled and put a hand on Regina's arm in a gesture of friendship. "It really was no problem at all. You work so hard and I'm just at home all day doing the housewife thing. It's the least I can do."

Regina hugged her closest friend in town and saw her out before checking on Henry. He was asleep.

Back downstairs, she poured herself a drink before grabbing her purse and retrieving the small box from its depths. Their tree was decorated all in beautiful whites with just a hint of gold here and there. She stepped up to it and put the blue star dead center. She took a step back to admire it.

It looked out of place among the pristine decorations. A small piece of chaos in a sea of tranquility. Exactly what Emma Swan was in her life. Her small piece of chaos in her world of perfect order. And yet somehow she fit, just like this ornament fit.

"What's that Momma?"

She glanced over her shoulder to where her son stood in the doorway from the foyer in his fleece dinosaur footie pajamas, carrying his blanket in one hand and rubbing his tired eyes with the balled up fist of his other hand. His brown hair stuck up in random places in wild tufts.

"It's a gift for us from a friend of Momma's. Wanna come see?" She held out a hand to him. He shuffled across the room and held up his thin arms.

She immediately put a hand under each of his arms and hoisted him up and into her arms. She carried him over close to the tree pointing at the blue star. "See what it says there?"

The boy squinted through sleepy hazel eyes at the star, trying to make sense of the letters. Once he read them correctly, his eyes got big. "It says Henry Momma! It's my star!"

Regina smiled at her son's enthusiasm. "It sure is. That's a very special star Henry. It's good for one wish. So I want you to close your eyes." She waited until he squeezed his eyes shut before continuing. "And make one wish with all your heart."

A look of concentration covered Henry's little face, his eyes still slammed shut as he made his wish. Finally his features relaxed and he opened his eyes.

"Did you make a wish?"

He nodded.

"Was it a good one?"

Again he nodded.

She smiled. "Very well. Now, it's time for bed and before you know it, your wish might come true."


	3. Helplessness For The Holidays

DISCLAIMER:: do not own OUAT or it's characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: wow, the response to the last chapter was staggering. so as a thank you, i started writing this chapter on napkins in the break room at work, so now everyone who i work with thinks i'm crazy, but by late last night it was finished. thank you for all the positive feedback, obviously it makes me write this story faster. as to the story itself, for now, i know what i want to do with it, so it's just going to keep coming until i don't know what i want to do with it anymore. enjoy and review.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 3: Helplessness For The Holidays**

The room was cold around her as she woke. Her breath was visible in the air every time she exhaled, though her heavy duvet kept the worst of the cold from reaching her skin. It was still dark out, sometime before dawn. She looked towards the baby monitor sitting on the bedside table. Henry had objected heavily_- "I'm not a baby Momma!"-_ but with his health not improving over the last couple weeks, she had insisted on using them just in case he had need of her in the night. It was blessedly silent. Whatever had woken her, it wasn't Henry.

She sighed. She hadn't been sleeping well, too busy worrying about not only her son, but about Emma Swan as well. The woman was leaving. She wouldn't return to the meeting in January, Regina was certain. Emma Swan was going to leave Boston and there was nothing Regina Mills could do to stop her. Helplessness was not something Regina was accustomed to feeling. She demanded results, _her_ results, the things she desired always came to fruition. It was in her nature to do whatever was necessary to make the expected results happen. For the first time ever, what she desired was completely not up to her. She couldn't make Miss Swan stay anymore than she could cure her son of his illness.

The baby monitor crackled and her attention jumped from her thoughts of Emma straight back to the present. Silence descended once more but she stared at the device with intensity, willing it to come back to life, to warn her if something was amiss. The silence extended for several long moments, lulling her into a sense of calm. Maybe nothing was wrong. Just when she started to let her mind drift again, a whimper came through the monitor.

Regina didn't hesitate. She knocked the duvet to the ground in her haste to scramble off the bed and out of her bedroom door. She was down the hall to her son's room in five seconds flat, her chest heaving in exertion and worry as she threw open the door.

Henry was twisting in his sleep, a pained look on his small face. His room was warm. She had turned the small space heater on in the corner of the room before she'd put him to bed, unwilling to risk him catching the chills on top of what was already ailing him. His room was toasty but Henry was shivering under his normal mountain of blankets.

She crossed the room and put her hand to his forehead. It was on fire.

"Henry baby, wake up." She stroked down his cheek, squeezing his shoulder lightly to make him stir.

Slowly, hazel eyes slipped half open. "Momma, I don't feel so good." He whimpered to punctuate the statement, twisting under his blankets.

"I know baby. We're going to take you to see the doctor, okay?"

He nodded.

Regina stroked his sweaty hair and placed a kiss on his feverish forehead. "Momma's just going to get your backpack and change into her clothes. Just hold tight, everything will be better soon." The second she was in the hall and he could no longer see her, she felt tears sting her eyes. She rushed into her room. She'd gone through this same procedure enough since the first night when Henry had awoken in severe pain, a bruise covering his abdomen, two years ago. She'd perfected the process over the years. She grabbed the already prepared outfit hanging on the back of the door to her walk in closet, stripping off her pajamas and slipping into the comfortable, yet still practical, outfit she reserved for nights like this, thick black leggings and an oversized sweater. She slipped into her winter boots and grabbed her tote bag filled with her overnight hospital stay supplies.

She went back down the hall to Henry's room, opening his closet and grabbing the pre-packed backpack with all the things a five year old could possibly demand while stuck in a hospital bed for an uncertain span of time. She didn't even bother to try and force him into clothes, his footie pajamas, rocket ships on a navy blue background today, would suffice. They'd just force him into a hospital gown anyway. She turned off the heater and went to the bed, the backpack and tote already slung over a shoulder.

She went back to the bed, pulling the blankets aside and lifting Henry into her arms. He felt even more hot than he had just minutes before. His little arms wrapped around her neck and he laid his head down on her free shoulder. She exited the room and carried him quickly down the stairs, stopping at the foyer table to grab her purse. She opened the closet to grab her coat, draping it over her son for added warmth against the snow that awaited them outside the front door.

They'd gained four inches overnight, glistening blinding white in the post-midnight darkness. It was level with the stoop now, but she didn't worry about driving in it. Nothing was going to stop her from getting to Storybrooke Hospital. She locked the front door and carried Henry down the side walkway to the garage. She opened the side entrance and went straight to the Mercedes, placing a protesting Henry in the backseat.

The helplessness she'd felt while thinking of Emma Swan only increased in the face of her son's worsening condition. She tried to keep the worry from her face as she drove across the small town, for Henry's sake. There was no traffic at this hour, but the unplowed snow made for a slow journey. It took nearly twenty minutes to travel the 3 km to the town's hospital.

The red Emergency sign was like a beacon in the dark, snow dripping down from where it was piled atop the letters. She parked in the closest spot, not caring in the least that it was a handicapped space. Graham wouldn't give her a ticket; she owned this town. She had nothing to fear from breaking such a silly rule.

She had Henry out of the car and through the automatic doors in less than a minute. The second the triage nurse saw her coming, she hustled off to ready a room and call Dr. Whale. This was not the first time they'd done this either. Everyone in this town knew about Henry and what they would have to deal with if they proved to be inefficient at their jobs.

He was placed into a triage bed, curtained off from the rest of the ER. Regina found herself listing off symptoms on autopilot to the nurse who was begging Henry to take deep breaths as she held a stethoscope to his chest.

Regina retreated into her head. Not for the first time in the past two years, she wondered if this was going to be the thing that killed him. Would this be the moment she lost her little boy? It was a funny thing to live one's life on the edge of a cliff, never knowing when your footing would become uneasy or you'd grow careless and slip off. Henry was so fragile and every day was a glaring reminder of his fragility. She'd built her life around his impending death. She wasn't even sure what else her life was about, or what she'd do if it actually was the end.

It was 2:29 on the 23rd of December.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

An infection in his kidney. Dr. Whale had been reluctant to tell her at first, but a little mayoral persuasion and he'd been convinced to spill the beans. She had to take Henry to his oncologist in Boston. They offered to arrange medical transport, anything for the mayor, but she declined. She didn't like being trapped in Boston without her own means of transportation, so they made Henry as comfortable as possible, packed him up in the backseat of the Mercedes, out like a light and she made the drive to Boston.

The drive was uneventful. Winter was tucked in close around them, all the evidence that the year was ending. Christmas lights twinkled from houses merrily blanketed in white. If she wasn't ensconced in such grim circumstances, she might actually enjoy the cheer of the season. But all that was on her mind was Henry. Her eyes flashed up to the rearview mirror every other second, the worried mother constantly making sure everything was alright.

Henry slept for most of the way, only waking up briefly to ask Regina if he could have some hot cocoa. She promised him some if he was a good boy and he'd smiled just before his eyes had slipped closed once more, the painkillers still keeping his system on minimal function mode.

The oncologist, Dr. Stephanie Mendelson, was waiting for them when they arrived. They rushed Henry into pre-op to get him prepared to remove his right kidney, while Dr. Mendelson directed Regina to her office. It was supposed to be a comforting place, Regina was sure, with its pastel walls and pictures of Dr. Mendelson's family smiling from every free surface, her bright happy family, her bright _healthy_ family. But all she saw was what her life should have been, the life she'd always wanted. Dr. Mendelson gave her the usual speech about the risks and Henry's chances, assuring her that he was a fighter and the procedure was relatively survivable.

They let her see Henry once he was all prepped and ready, right before they were to whisk him off into the OR. He was putting on a brave face, for her, and that, more than anything else that had happened over the last twenty four hours, broke her heart. Even now, when he had every right to be terrified, he _should_ be, he didn't want her to worry. How had she been so blessed?

"I love you." She kissed his forehead, wiping away one of her tears that fell from her eyes and onto his skin. "You are going to be just fine, okay? And I will be here. I'm not going anywhere. I will be right here the whole time."

Henry nodded, still putting on his brave face though tears leaked unbidden from his eyes.

It was 21:12 on the 23rd of December.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Henry had been in the operating room for over two hours. She'd received no updates and to say she was worried was the understatement of the century. She was terrified. She was too afraid to move, too afraid to breathe. She'd been pacing the whole time, her mind working on overdrive. One thought kept racing through her mind. She couldn't do this alone.

She grabbed her phone from her purse. She didn't have Emma's number, but she just might have a way to get it. She scrolled through her contact list until she came to the listing she was looking for. She put the phone to her ear, willing the woman to pick up despite the late hour. After three rings the line connected to a "Hello!" that was far too cheery for this time of night.

"Cheryl, it's Regina from group. I was wondering if you had a number for Emma Swan."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma had been able to think of nothing but Regina Mills in the week since the woman had placed her lips on hers. All she could think of was the women whose path had crossed hers by mere coincidence. It didn't escape her notice that if they had passed each other on the street, they wouldn't have given each other a second thought. They didn't belong in each other's lives. Regina was a politician, a devoted mother, respected and admired, beautiful. She, on the other hand, was a commitment-phobic twenty something, who thrived on spontaneity, could care less what people thought of her, gave up on parenthood, with an athletic build and hair that never seemed to do what she wanted it to. Not to mention her emotional baggage. She wasn't good for Regina. That kiss...Regina had been overly sentimental because of the gift, nothing more.

At least that's what she told herself as she stopped by the home improvement warehouse to pick up moving boxes. She had already quit her job. Gus had all but begged her to reconsider but she told him it was just time to move on. He'd promised her that her job would still be there when she got her head out of her ass and realised the mistake she was making. For two days she holed up in her apartment, trying to drudge up the will to purchase the boxes and do what she'd been doing since she was sixteen. Over half a decade she'd been through this. It was old hat by now.

She started where she always did. In the kitchen. Her favourite mug, stolen from a boyfriend who'd been so coffee addicted he'd had four cupboard shelves in the kitchen of his flat dedicated to the things. This one had a picture of some dilapidated castle, probably somewhere in Europe, on the light grey ceramic. It had a chip in the handle and a stained in tea ring around the rim inside, but she couldn't bring herself to part with it. Something about sitting down in the morning, tea in hand, looking at that castle... it always sent her off daydreaming of a world where knights and magic existed. It was childish really, but her imagination was all she had, the one thing no one could take from her.

Everything else in the kitchen could be left. She used disposable plates, bowls, and cutlery. It made clean up easier and minimized possessions. Next was the living room. The couch had come with the flat and would be left. She packed up her laptop in its case and the small stack of books from the bookshelf against the wall.

The bathroom came next. Most of the items that she wouldn't need to get ready in the morning were discarded, to be replaced when she got to wherever it was she was going, but she took her curling iron, blow dryer, and hairbrush, tossing them into the box. And the designer body veil Troy had bought her as a Christmas gift, reluctantly joined them, only because it was designer, not because she ever intended to use it, but it was nice to have just in case she ever needed to impress.

The bedroom was last. She retrieved a box from the closet, already sealed and ready to go. She never opened it anymore. Inside were all her personal mementoes, her baby blanket, old photographs, a bracelet Lillian had given her, along with every scrap of information she had on the family she had accepted she'd never find. She set the box in the hall and started tossing her minimal wardrobe into a fresh box. The bed would stay, as would the bedding, with the exception of the fuzzy blanket across the top. It was white, with light blue rocket ships flying into orbit all over it. With the exception of the items in the sealed box, it was her most precious possession.

After everything was packed up, she stared down at it all. Four cardboard boxes. That was what her life amounted to. It had been less at times, but never had it been more. Just the clothes on her back and those four cardboard boxes.

She considered not leaving until the morning, staying one more night in her flat. Technically she could stay until New Year's Eve; she was paid up through the end of the month, but there was no logical reason to linger. Every second she convinced herself to stay just brought her one step closer to breaking her resolve. She wouldn't be staying because she couldn't leave Boston; she'd be staying because this was her only connection to Regina.

It was late, there wouldn't be much traffic. If she left now, she could drive all night and be in Cleveland by mid-morning. Ohio was as good a place as any to start over, right?

She took the boxes down one by one, her resolve that she was doing what was best growing as she set each one in. This was the right thing to do, for everyone. It was better this way. There was a reason she didn't allow herself to form attachments; it was disastrous for everyone involved. She needed to leave Boston, and everything it had brought with it, behind.

The boxes were all tucked away in the car. A quick check of her phone told her it was two minutes after midnight on Christmas Eve. She went back up to the flat to do a final sweep. She knew she hadn't missed anything, but she always checked anyway.

She was just heading back to the door, tucking her keys into an envelope with a letter to her landlady when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, but the number on the screen was foreign to her. Probably just some solicitor. She pressed Ignore and tucked the phone back into her pocket. She took one last look around the flat before closing the door. She had made it to the staircase at the end of the hall when her phone, silent for only a few moments, began to buzz again. It was the same number. Again, she hit Ignore. It buzzed again as she stepped down onto the second floor landing. Once again, with so much force the screen clicked back angrily, she pressed Ignore. She had just shoved the keys and letter into the landlady's mailbox when it buzzed for the fourth time. This person just wasn't going to stop, were they?

"What?"

"Emma?" Regina's voice was thick, off somehow.

Emma instantly felt a sense of dread. She didn't even take the time to contemplate how Regina had gotten her number, a number she had specifically avoided giving her so that she could make a clean break. Something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

There was a long, drawn out moment of silence. "I need you."

Emma's response was automatic. "I'm on my way. Tell me where you are."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina hadn't been prepared for how good it would be to hear Emma's voice. By the time she had convinced Cheryl to give her Emma's number ("_I don't want to violate Emma's trust Regina_"), her desperation had been at an all time high. With each ring, it only grew. Emma hadn't picked up the first time. So she redialed. She kept redialing until the blonde had answered. The moment she did, Regina felt the floodgates inside her crumble. The past twenty four hours invaded her system, causing her to stagger over to the nearest seat and fall into it. The surgical waiting room was blessedly empty at this time of night and no one was around to witness her weakness.

She couldn't recall what actual words were spoken between them, just that they had been brief. She couldn't explain what had happened, why she was in the hospital at midnight on Christmas Eve. The only words in the entire conversation she focused on was Emma telling her she was on her way. Emma was going to be here. She wasn't going to be alone anymore.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma had never been a fan of hospitals, they were one of her least favourite places, second only to a jail cell. People only came to hospitals when something was wrong, they were sick, or they were hurt. Some people came here to die. Sure, people brought new life into the world here and survived seemingly unbeatable odds, but, in Emma's mind, there would never be enough good to outweigh all the bad.

She hugged her arms tightly around her torso as she walked the nearly deserted halls of the hospital. It was half past midnight on the day before Christmas and there was the bare minimum of personnel around. She'd managed to get past the guard in the lobby without too much of an interrogation. He waved her in the direction of the elevators and told her the surgical waiting room was on the third floor, right out of the elevators, first left, halfway down on the right. She repeated this information under her breath as she stepped off the elevator, aware of how easy it is to get turned around when every corridor looks the same as another.

She was still in her flannel pajama pants and thermal shirt, a button up sweater with only two of the original ten buttons remaining and a hole in the sleeve from years of wear completed the look. But somehow she didn't think Regina was going to care how she looked in this moment.

All she had been able to pull from the brunette on the phone was that she was in the surgical waiting room and she needed her. Emma could easily infer that something had happened to Henry; he was the only person of note in Regina's life. Plus, his oncologist was in Boston. It would only make sense that they would come here. Had his cancer spread? Was he dying?

She didn't know what to do, how to handle this. She'd been young when she'd lost Lillian. It had taken her three years before she even began to process the loss. She wasn't equipped to help someone through a situation like this, let alone a woman she barely knew. But she couldn't walk away from Regina. The woman _needed_ her... no one had ever needed her. She had no idea how to be someone's saviour, but she wanted to be Regina's.

So she'd driven straight over, zooming through Boston's semi-empty streets until she was parking in front of the medical center. She didn't contemplate leaving, turning back and just driving off into the sunset like she'd planned. She could do this last thing for Regina before she went. She could be there for her this one time.

She paused outside the door to the surgical waiting room, not sure what she'd find on the other side of the plain wooden door. A plaque to its side was the only thing to even identify that this was the right place. She took a deep breath. Maybe she had misheard the emotion in Regina's voice, maybe it had simply been a bad connection and Regina was perfectly fine. She wouldn't know until she went inside. She steeled herself and opened the door.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina heard the quiet opening of the door like a clap of thunder. It was the quietest of sounds, but she had been so acutely aware that it reverberated through her eardrums. She looked up, hopeful. Emma Swan peeked cautiously into the room, her green eyes searching. Regina stood, drawing the blonde's attention.

Emma slid into the room. She was in navy blue plaid flannel pajama pants that hung low and loose on her slim hips. A grey thermal hugged her ample chest and lean stomach and it was topped by a sweater that had seen better days, but the green of it matched her eyes perfectly and somehow, Regina loved this side of the woman she'd only officially met a week ago.

Emma walked calmly across the room. The second she was close enough, her arms opened up and she pulled Regina into them. She didn't say a word, just held her. Regina began to sob, her body heaving with the emotion that was all trying to force its way out at once. Emma just held her tighter, stroking her hair. She didn't do any of the usual false assurances, didn't interrogate her as to what had happened. She was just there for her. And that was exactly what Regina had needed.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma watched the sun rise over Boston through the window. With the exception of a nurse coming in to update them around three that things were progressing smoothly, the room had been silent. Emma didn't mind, she was used to the quiet; she spent most of her days alone with her thoughts. The waiting room had everything they needed, vending machines, a bathroom, even a microwave and a coffee machine. There was no reason to leave and neither of them made any suggestion of doing so.

She held Regina's hand. She had from the moment they sat down, side by side in the not entirely comfortable waiting room chairs. Neither spoke, they just held hands and stared at the door as the hours ticked towards dawn like a countdown to doomsday.

The blonde attention was drawn from a window as the door finally opened and a woman in scrubs entered. Emma assumed it was just another nurse, but Regina shot up. Emma followed suit, making to release Regina's hand, unsure of how the woman would react to this display of affection being seen by another person's eyes, but the brunette kept a death grip on her hand.

"How's Henry?" Regina's voice was strong, though Emma saw right through to the fear.

The doctor smiled. "He made it through just fine. The infected kidney has been removed. There was also some extensive damage to his gall bladder that Dr. Whale's tests didn't pick up on; we thought it best to remove that as well. We'll have to meet on Wednesday to discuss the change in Henry's diet. He'll be on liquids while he stays here, so no need to concern yourself with it until then, but his diet will need to be modified to accommodate the changes. He'll be sore for a couple weeks while the incision sites heal. I'd like him to try walking a little each day, not too far, maybe just around the room at first, then down the hall and back when he feels stronger. The movement will help with any trapped gases in his abdomen that may cause discomfort. I know he's squeamish about the Heparin, but it still needs to be administered. I've instructed his nurses to try and wait until he's sleeping to give it to him, to lessen the pain of the injection. Beyond that, everything is just fine. He's not awake yet, but we have him in Recovery now if you'd like to come see him."

Regina glanced over her shoulder at Emma, but the blonde just squeezed her hand and waved her on. "Go. I'll be here when you get back. I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

Regina nodded and finally released her hand, following the doctor out of the room. Emma stretched. She grabbed two dollars from the roll of bills she tucked into the pocket of her sweater along with her ID and cell phone when she'd come into the hospital. She walked over to the vending machines. Normally she was loathe to drink soda, but after being up all night, she needed a caffeine boost and she'd take any she could get. She inserted her money and pressed the button for a Pepsi. As she took her first swallow, she winced at the intensity of the sugar and carbonation. By the third sip, she had gotten used to it and was sipping regularly.

She returned to their little corner and sat back down. She had no idea if Regina would dismiss her now that Henry was doing well and recovering. The brunette might not need her anymore. She was okay with that, at least she was able to give the woman some comfort, a night where she didn't have to bear the burden alone; it was more than she'd done for anyone else in a long time. No matter what happened when Regina returned, she'd done something truly good today.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared down at Henry, out cold on the bed, an IV strung into his arm. He looked so small, as he did every single time she saw him huddled in the middle of a hospital bed, leads and IV tubes sneaking this way and that out of his little body. She'd seen this sight too frequently; it was too commonplace in their lives.

She smoothed down his hair. He wouldn't wake up for a while; his body had been through too much and it needed time to rest. But she was comforted by the rise and fall of his chest. He wasn't on a ventilator, he needed no help breathing, and that gave her comfort. He was alive; he had survived. Tears slipped from her eyes as she continued to smooth down his hair.

She hadn't expected Emma to have such a comforting effect on her. The woman had held her until her legs couldn't support her weight anymore and then they'd sat, hands clasped together. Emma had never flinched, she'd never complained, never tried to move away. She'd been there, a presence, ready for whatever Regina needed. When the brunette thought of marriage, of people spending their lives together, that's always what she thought of, people who could just exist together, and in that, be content. Emma had been everything she needed. And now she was waiting there for her, waiting to see if she was needed further. Regina couldn't help but wonder if she would ever again feel like she didn't need Emma Swan. Somehow she doubted it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma glanced up from her half-finished Pepsi as Regina slipped back into the room. The brunette had been on edge all night, but now, she just looked thoroughly exhausted. Tired down to her very core. She was a woman who'd lived through too much tragedy, enough to fill several lifetimes. Emma wished she could take every bad thing the woman had lived through and somehow erase its poisonous hold on Regina's life.

"How is he doing?"

Regina shrugged as she fell into the seat next to Emma's. "He'll be out for a few more hours at least. They're moving him up to a suite on the fifth floor right now. They want to keep him a couple nights, until the day after Christmas. If he's improved on Wednesday, they'll discuss when would be best to discharge him." She sighed. "I'll have to make some calls, get things sorted back home." She paled a little, looking overwhelmed by the situation but decidely resigned to her fate.

"I'm not sure how much, if at all, I can help, but I'm here for you, whatever you need."

Regina glanced over, thrown off guard by the blonde's words. How could this woman, this stranger really, care about helping her out? "Surely you have plans? It's the holiday."

Something flashed across Emma's face that the brunette couldn't entirely read, but it seemed somewhat akin to displeasure. "No, not any plans of significance."

Regina could read enough into Emma's tone to realise it would be unwise to pry or to push the matter further. Whatever the reason Emma didn't have holiday plans, Regina was grateful for it. Maybe she wouldn't be stuck spending Christmas alone in a hospital. "I don't want you to go, but it's not fair to ask you to stay."

Emma smiled, reaching over and squeezing Regina's hand. "Right now, there's no place I'd rather be."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina had fallen asleep in her chair in the corner of the room. She had tried to stay awake, wanting to be up when Henry awakened, but her body had finally succumbed to its exhaustion just after noon. Emma had been making coffee runs since six, keeping them fueled with a constant supply of caffeine from the Starbucks counter in the dining hall, but it hadn't been enough to chase away the debilitating effects of the past day and a half.

Emma herself was tired, but she was content to just watch over the brunette and her son as they slept rather than succumb herself. She found it difficult to sleep with other people in the room, a habit from childhood that she'd never been able to shake. She'd shared so much, including a bedroom in the group homes, that the first time she had slept alone, it had sealed her fate. Now, she couldn't even bear to be an overnight guest at a significant other's place. She just didn't feel safe enough with anyone.

"Who are you?"

Emma nearly jumped out of her seat, startled. Her eyes rose to meet curious hazel ones peering at her from the hospital bed. Once she recovered from the shock of the broken silence, she managed a smile. "I'm Emma; I'm a friend of your mom's."

"Are you the star friend?"

She wasn't sure what that meant and she said as much.

"The star, on our Christmas tree, Momma said a friend gave it to us."

Emma smiled as she realised he meant the ornament. It gave her a great deal of pleasure to know that Regina had actually put it up on her tree. She nodded. "I suppose I am." She got up and moved to his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Scared."

Emma nodded. It was understandable, considering all the kid had gone through. "Well I have something that will protect you. Would you like that?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

"I just have to run down to my car really quick and grab it. Can you do me a favour while I'm gone? It's a super important job that only the bravest little boys can do. Do you think you can do it?"

He puffed out his chest and nodded sternly.

Emma looked uncertain as if she were about to trust him with the most important mission in the world. "Your Momma is asleep in that chair over there." She pointed to where Regina was sleeping. "I need you to watch over her and protect her, okay? Do you think you can do that while I'm gone?"

Henry gave a firm nod of confirmation.

"Good boy. I'll be right back." She turned for the door.

She returned seven minutes later, carrying her blanket with its soaring rocket ships.

The second Henry caught sight of it, his eyes widened. "It has space ships!"

Emma smiled and nodded. "This is a magic blanket. When you sleep with this blanket, it protects you from anything bad happening." She stepped forward, unfolding it and draping it over the boy's hospital bed. She tucked it in around him. "It's very special and very powerful and I'm trusting you to keep it safe, okay?"

Henry managed to grin up at her though he was looking tired once more.

She leaned down and kissed him on top of his head. "Sleep now kid. When you wake up, you'll feel even better."

He tried to fight the pull of sleep for several moments before he lost the battle and his eyes slipped closed.

It was 13:08 on the 24th of December.


	4. All I Want For Christmas

DISCLAIMER:: do not own OUAT or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: again, thank you all for the great feedback. i continue to write this story mostly on napkins (they really should invest in paper) at work while on break which is the only reason it is still being updated and dreamscape and my other stories are not. when i get days off i will update the others. i am surprised that everyone assumed i was going to knock off henry so quick. i like to draw my angst out dear readers, so henry is safe for at least another few chapters. if you think the last few chapters were fluffy, you ain't seen nothing yet. be prepared to be hit in the fluffy feels this chapter. also a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter... i wonder if anyone will pick up on it, because it's subtle. enjoy and review. it feeds the beast.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 4: All I Want For Christmas**

It took a few minutes after she had awakened for Regina to orient herself with her surroundings. The chair beneath her body was unforgiving and hard, not typically her first choice of sleeping apparatus. She wasn't freezing, but neither was she warm. She blinked open her eyes and was met with a hospital room. The walls were painted in one of those discount warehouse paints in the least desirable colours, seafoam green being the choice of colour in this particular case. There wasn't much in the room, the standing two door wardrobe cupboard that held the fresh linens with the empty shelf that she used to hold their bags, Henry's hospital bed, a couple other chairs, and the small rolling table at the side of the bed.

Henry was asleep and they were alone in the small room. The two other chairs were empty. As the past couple days came back to her, she sat up. Her muscles, stiff from sleeping in the chair, groaned in protest and she winced. She looked around the room. Emma Swan and all traces of her were gone. Regina took a deep breath. She'd be okay. She shouldn't have expected the younger woman to stick around for a woman that was over half a decade older than her and the woman's sick kid.

She got up to check Henry's monitors. His last blood pressure readout, taken fifteen minutes prior was a little lower than she liked, but not in the worrisome range. His pulse was good, last oxygen level was decent. All in all, he could be much worse. She sighed in relief.

It was only as she actually moved to his side, looking at the boy instead of the monitors that she noticed the blanket. It was white, fuzzy like fleece, but much softer, with rocket ships soaring this way and that, no obvious destination or trajectory to their flight. It was beautiful. But where had it come from? It certainly wasn't theirs.

A sound at the door made her turn and she saw Gabrielle standing in the doorway. "Hey."

Regina managed a small smile. "Hey, come on in."

Gaby came in and checked over the monitors Regina just had. "Not his best readings, but doing well for post-op. Much better than he should be."

Regina nodded. "I wonder what changed."

"Must be Emma's magic blanket."

Regina's eyebrow shot to her hairline. "Emma's _what_ now?"

Gaby, waving Regina over by the door so they were out of earshot of the little boy on the bed, gestured to the blanket lying over her son. "Emma gave that to Henry. She said it had magical powers and as long as he slept with it, it would protect him. Kids are more resilient than adults. They believe in things like magic and fairytales. They have better track records of surviving things because they _believe_ they can. They still believe in the impossible. I think Emma giving him that blanket may be why his readings are so much better than we anticipated. He believes it's _protecting_ him."

Regina looked back to the sleeping boy and the blanket lying over him. A smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Leave it to Emma Swan to inadvertently help Henry get better. Just like last night, when Emma had been exactly what she'd needed, now she was unknowingly doing the same for Henry.

"She's really good with him; almost as good as you." Gaby smiled warmly. "She's a catch, Regina. I'd hold onto that one if I were you."

Regina pursed her lips. "How do you hold onto something that's already slipping through your fingers?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma was no stranger to breaking the rules. She was pretty sure what she was doing was not exactly allowed, but she didn't really care at the moment. She peered around the corner towards the nurse's station. How she managed to get it this far, through the lobby, up the back staircase (the lift had been far too risky), and to the oncology department on the fifth floor, she had no concievable idea. She supposed some unseen force was just on her side. Now she could only hope that she could sucker Gabrielle, who had come on for the overnight shift, into helping her in her criminal undertaking.

As she saw the petite nurse exit a patient's room, she stage whispered to get her attention. Gaby looked over and smiled when she saw her, coming down the hall to meet her. "Hey, you're back." She froze, her smile faltering as she caught sight of the box behind the blonde. "Is that what I think it is?" Her tone was already sliding from pleasant to disapproving.

Emma glanced over her shoulder and nodded. "Uh, yeah." She shrugged sheepishly. "It's for Henry. It can't be easy, being here over the holidays. The staff, they get to go home at the end of their shifts and be with their families. Henry's stuck in a hospital bed with tubes and wires and crap coming out of every free..."

Gaby raised a hand to stop her. "Okay, I get it. Spare me the lecture. As long as it's not real, I suppose it will be acceptable."

Emma grinned and nodded. Good, getting her to give her approval had been the harder half of the battle. "I need your help."

"I'm not helping with that. I have patients to keep an eye on." She didn't look the least bit apologetic.

Emma rolled her eyes. "No, I'll do everything. I just need a quiet place to set up and then, when I give the signal, I need you to, uh... get Regina out of the room."

Gaby shook her head. "Oh no. No, no, no. Do you know how _impossible_ that is? She doesn't even leave that room to eat." Regina was attached to Henry like glue.

"Please. I'll owe you. I'll do anything, please. I want it to be a surprise for both of them." Emma clasped her hands together in the universal gesture of begging.

"You'll do _anything_?"

Emma was suddenly very afraid of the mischievous glint in the brunette nurse's eyes. What had she unknowingly signed herself up for?

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

This was a new experience for Emma as she surveyed her handiwork. She'd never done this before. In all her years of childhood, the opportunity had never really presented itself and by the time she had reached adulthood, she had resented the whole idea of the holiday. Like any other commitments, traditions just weren't for her. But it would pass as decent, at least she hoped so. She pulled the last piece, the finishing touch, from the bottom of the bag she'd brought in with the box and fixed it in place. It wasn't the real thing, not by a long shot, but she hoped it would suffice.

Slowly she crept out of the empty room, two down from Henry's. She walked over to the nurse's station where Gaby was sitting, staring at a computer screen reading as she chewed absentmindedly on the eraser of her pencil. She signaled to her that it was time and Gaby reluctantly got up. She shuffled through some papers on the printer until she found what she was looking for. As she walked out from around the desk, clutching the papers, she narrowed her eyes at Emma. "Believe me. You'll pay."

Emma just managed an apologetic grin, though she didn't feel the least bit sorry. She crept back into the empty room and closed the door part way to block herself from view when they walked back by. She heard as Gaby entered the room and vague mumbling.

Then Regina's voice could be heard clearly as they stepped out into the hall. "What do you **mean** there's a _problem_ with my insurance?"

Emma cringed at the venom in the brunette's tone. Now she saw the intimidating side everyone mentioned at the support group. She would not want to be on the receiving end of that tone.

Gaby sounded apologetic. "There's just some incomplete information it seems and they're giving us the runaround. If you'll just come with me to the nurse's station, I'm sure we can fix it."

"But Henry..."

"Will be perfectly fine, Regina."

Emma heard them pass by the door. She counted to ten before she peeked around the door and out into the hall. She could hear Regina and Gaby talking at the nurse's station, but they were out of view of the corridor. Slowly Emma pulled her surprise from the room, carrying it carefully down the hall to Henry's room.

As expected, the boy was still out like a light; morphine tended to have that effect on such small bodies. She set her surprise up in the corner beside the standing wardrobe, making sure it faced the little boy's bed, so he'd be able to see it clearly once he awoke. She took a step back and admired it. She just hoped Regina would like it.

She left the room to fetch Regina and spare Gaby one more second of playing distraction. When she approached the nurse's station, she almost regretted asking the small brunette to play decoy. Regina looked thoroughly incensed as she scanned what Emma could only assume was the insurance forms.

"I don't see any missing information."

Emma cleared her throat. "Regina."

The older brunette turned, her expression instantly softening.

Emma's heart stuttered at the look of relief and warmth that was in the woman's eyes just at the mere sight of her. "I have a surprise for you." She held out her hand.

Regina looked over her shoulder to Gaby who grinned. "Whoops, looks like I found the information I was missing right here."

The older brunette turned back to look at Emma and slowly took her hand.

Emma grinned and turned back up the corridor, leading Regina behind her. She paused outside the door to Henry's room. "Close your eyes."

Regina looked at her suspiciously for a long moment before reluctantly allowing her eyes to slip closed.

Emma opened the door and led the woman into the room. She positioned her right in front of her surprise. "Open your eyes."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina felt her heart wrench in her chest. A tree. Emma Swan had gotten them a tree. She reached out and touched the fake fronds. It was small, only five feet tall, the garland was haphazardly wrapped around, the ornaments were not evenly spaced. It looked thrown together at the last minute. But there, towards the top and dead center was a star, cut from blue construction paper, with the name Henry written in permanent marker. She had tried to recreate their tree at home, without ever having seen it herself, for Henry, and for her. It was more perfect than she would ever be able to express. The scent of fresh pine surrounded the tree. Wait... The tree was fake... "It smells real."

"Oh." Emma blushed and shrugged sheepishly, reaching her hand around the tree to the side hidden from view against the wall. When she withdrew it, she was holding a green, tree shaped, car air freshener in Fresh Pine scent.

Regina chuckled softly. It was so perfect, so very _Emma_. She felt tears sting her eyes, the physical manifestations of her joy. She turned to regard the blonde standing beside her, looking suddenly unsure.

Emma bit her bottom lip. "You don't like it."

Regina shook her head. "Emma, I love it. It's perfect, thank you."

Emma let out a breath of relief. "Good. I mean, you're welcome." She glanced at the tree. "Do you think Henry will like it?"

Regina chuckled again. "He will love it just as much as I do."

Emma grinned, but it departed her face far too quickly. "I only wish I had some presents for him to open. Every kid deserves presents on Christmas."

Regina squeezed the hand that still held hers. "You already gave him his magic blanket. Thanks to you and your blanket there, Henry's readings were above expectations."

"Really?"

Regina nodded. "It's not even officially Christmas yet and he's already on the fast track to be out of here. As long as he's able to walk and his stats stay this good, he'll be discharged on Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. So, you see." She stepped into Emma's personal space, pulling the blonde close. "You gave him hope; you helped him heal. That's the best present he, and I, could ask for."

Emma leaned in enough to rest her forehead against Regina's. How could this woman make her feel as if she were doing all the right things? If there was one thing Emma was certain she was good at, it was doing everything wrong. So how was this different?

Regina's stomach grumbled, interrupting their moment.

Emma smiled. "I should go get you something to eat. You probably haven't had anything since yesterday morning."

Regina couldn't deny the claim. She hadn't eaten a meal since dinner on the 22nd, and here it was just a little over an hour remaining of Christmas Eve. No wonder her stomach was making such a fuss; it had been ignored for two whole days. "I'll go, you stay, relax."

Emma shook her head. "It's nothing, really."

"Have you even slept?"

Emma's silence was Regina's only answer, but it was enough to confirm her suspicions.

"I'll only be gone for a second. It'll be good for me to stretch my legs."

Emma nodded. She was tired. Carrying the box that held the tree up five flights of stairs had worn her out. She was too exhausted to argue, only concede defeat.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared at her options in the vending machine. It was almost midnight, the coffee cart in the lobby and the dining hall were both closed, not to reopen for another six hours. Her only option was the vast array of vending machines around the hospital, all carrying the same junk that she wouldn't normally be caught dead eating. She had considered leaving the hospital to find some twenty four hour drive thru, but the nutritional value wouldn't improve much with that option and she didn't like the idea of leaving the building. Who knew if anything would be open at this time of night on a holiday anyway?

She put in three quarters and pressed A4, watching the bar corkscrew around until her potato chips fall down. She bent and picked the bag up, opening it and popping a chip into her mouth. It was greasy, leaving oil on her fingers, but it tasted heavenly to her empty stomach, even as her mind cringed at the lack of nutritional value.

She was glad Emma had conceded so easily. It was nice to get out of the room and stretch her legs even if only for a moment. She'd been sitting, staring at her son for too long, her mind filled with worried thoughts of every possible scenario. It had been like this for so long she couldn't remember a time when she had never not been worried. Such was the by-product of motherhood.

He had been so beautiful and fragile. A three week old baby boy, born to a teenage mother. That's all they'd told her. No information had been offered up in regards to his biological parents and she'd never inquired into the matter. She didn't want to think about her perfect baby boy being conceived during a quickie in the backseat of a car on prom night. He didn't need his biological parents; he had her. That had always been enough.

But now she wished she had inquired, that she had thought to ask after the teenager's medical history. Did cancer run in the family or was this a first time occurrence? It would have been helpful to have known her, or at the very least about her.

But it was a moot point now. There was no way to find Henry's birth mom. She'd tried to get her name from the agency, but they refused to disclose the information. She was able to gather that there was no father reported on the birth certificate. Henry's father was a big question mark, an identity only his biological mother knew.

She didn't realise she'd finished the chips until her fingers touched down in the bottom of an empty bag. She crumpled it and tossed it in the nearby rubbish bin. That would suffice until the dining hall opened at six and she and Emma could get a proper meal.

She took her time making her way back up to the fifth floor and her son's room. She couldn't believe Emma was still here. And the tree... How did the young blonde know exactly what she needed? It didn't seem real.

She had assumed when she awoken to an empty hospital room that Emma had snuck away. But Gaby had assured her that Emma had just gone to run a few errands and that she would return. Regina would never have guessed that the young woman's errands had been to get them a tree.

She found herself smiling by the time she made it back to the room. She pushed open the door, resolving to give Emma a big kiss of gratitude the moment she saw her.

But Emma wasn't in the room, or at least that's what appeared to be the case at first. But upon closer inspection, Regina caught sight of blonde hair, peeking out from under the edge of the rocket ship blanket. Emma was curled up, fast asleep, on the hospital bed beside Henry. Regina leaned against the wall as she watched the exhausted woman, looking peaceful, next to the small boy, smiling even in sleep. Apparently, the blonde only felt comfortable enough to sleep when under the protective powers of the blanket.

Regina walked to the right side of the bed, leaning down and kissing Henry's temple, smoothing down his hair. He didn't stir, too under the influence of painkillers to register the touch. Before she even took time to consider her actions, she leaned over even further and pressed an identical kiss to the blonde's forehead, cupping her cheek and running her thumb over the woman's lips. She pulled away with a smile and returned to her chair in the corner, content to watch over her two favourite people until morning.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Sunlight streamed in through the window when Emma awakened. A warm body was nestled tightly against hers and she looked over to see hazel eyes staring happily at her.

"She's awake Momma."

Regina smiled from her chair. "I see that sweetheart."

Emma sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she did. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on the bed. While Regina had been out getting something to eat, Henry had begun to toss and turn. The blonde hadn't known what to do, so she'd sat on the bed next to him and stroked his hair. It had seemed to work, so she'd slipped under the rocket ship blanket, leaving the hospital blanket below her so that she didn't bump any of Henry's incision sites accidentally, and continued to smooth down his hair. She must have fallen asleep while waiting for the brunette woman to return. "You didn't wake me up."

Regina shook her head, the smile still in place on her face. "You needed the rest, and you both looked pretty content, so I decided to let you sleep."

Emma slipped out from under the blanket and off the bed. "Thanks for letting me borrow your space there kid."

Henry grinned. "You're welcome."

"Knock knock." Gaby came through the doorway. When she caught sight of Emma, she grinned. "Oh, wonderful, you're awake. Just in time."

Emma frowned. "Just in time for what?"

"Payback."

Emma felt her stomach sink down to the vicinity of her feet as Gaby pulled something out from behind her back. "Oh no."

Gaby nodded, the grin never leaving her face. "Oh yes."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma knew she would never live this down. But had she known what her punishment would be, she would still have agreed to it, just to see the look on Regina's face when she'd first laid eyes on the tree. It was worth it to be Emma the Elf to the doctor playing Santa Claus for all the children in the hospital.

She followed around behind the chubby man in the red suit, carrying his bag of nondistinct toys for all the kids in the pediatric wing. It was for a good cause and with every smile she got from the kids she handed a present to, it seemed more and more that Gaby had done her a favour. It didn't really feel like punishment at all. The only downside was having to be away from Henry and Regina.

The brunette had insisted on waiting until she returned to go to eat. Henry was being taken for some post-op tests at nine and she had suggested they go together to the dining hall after he was taken off and eat a proper meal. Emma had agreed before slinking off to help Santa. Luckily the elf hat and the tunic she wore, both were easy to take on and off and went over her normal clothes so she didn't have to endure the humiliation of walking the halls dressed like an elf all day, or worse, of Regina seeing her in the humiliating outfit.

It took ninety minutes, but finally they made it to the end of the pediatrics ward. All the presents were gone and she handed over the outfit and the empty bag. She made her way back up to the fifth floor.

Regina was waiting for her in Henry's room. She stood when Emma entered. "They took Henry a little early. You ready to eat?"

Emma nodded.

Regina grabbed her purse from the shelf in the wardrobe and fell into step beside Emma as they made their way towards the lifts. They didn't speak, just walked silently side by side until they were in the safety of the lift. The second the doors slid closed, the brunette turned to the blonde, placing her hands on either side of the blonde's face. She hesitated for a moment, giving Emma ample time to stop her, and then brought her lips to the younger woman's.

Emma saw Regina leaning in. Her mind told her to stop the woman before they took this past a point there would be no coming back from. But she didn't want to stop her. She wanted this. She wanted Regina's mouth on hers. She smiled as Regina's lips moved softly over hers. It was an exploratory kiss, not demanding, just full of promise.

Regina was intoxicated by Emma's lips. She never wanted to stop kissing Emma Swan. But as the lift slowed to a stop, Regina reluctantly pulled away, her hands dropping from Emma's face. The lift doors slid open and she breezed out as if she hadn't just tilted Emma's world on its axis.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"So Emma, you've seen the inner dealings of my world, but I know nothing about you. Tell me about yourself."

They had arrived at the dining hall to find it nearly devoid of people. It wasn't surprising, considering it was Christmas day. Even the two employees working the café looked as if they'd rather be anywhere but at work today.

Emma poked at her cereal with her spoon, not terribly hungry all of a sudden. She was her own least favourite topic of conversation. She hated talking about herself. But Regina deserved something. "Um, sure, what would you like to know?"

"Anything. We spent three hours together in Starbucks last week and all I managed to drag out of you was that you were impeccably skilled at finding things."

It was true. The conversation had flowed easily between them at the coffee shop but it had been entirely one sided. She knew quite a bit about the basics of Regina's life, but the woman knew not much more about her than her name.

"Well, I'm twenty three. Um, not married, no..." She thought back to the baby boy as she'd handed him over to the social worker. _'He deserves better'_. That was the only explanation she'd given. He wasn't hers anymore. She had no right to claim otherwise. She'd stopped being a parent the moment that baby had left her arms. He belonged to someone else now.

"You have a child?"

"No, no I don't. It's just me." Emma managed a half hearted shrug. "That's how it's always been."

Regina took a segment of grapefruit and nibbled on it thoughtfully. "So, you said you moved here from Nashville, but that's not where you were born. So where are you from originally?"

"Maine actually. Portland area. I grew up there."

Regina couldn't hide her surprise. She'd been so close. All those years and she'd been not even fifty miles from Storybrooke. "What made you leave Maine?" She popped another segment into her mouth, her eyes never leaving the blonde.

Emma shrugged, her eyes focused solely on the cereal she wasn't eating. "There was really no reason to stick around."

"You move around a lot?"

"Yea. I try a place once, see how it fits, and then I move on."

Regina studied the girl. She wouldn't meet her eyes. She looked more vulnerable than Regina had seen her since she'd stood in front of the group and told the story of her almost adoptive mother. There was more to the story of her life than she was sharing, long buried pain that she wasn't willing to unearth yet. It would take time to peel back the layers of Emma Swan, but Regina didn't know how much time she had. "It seems like a lonely life."

Emma's eyes shot up to meet the brown ones across the table. No one had ever been so blunt before, telling such an obvious truth to her face. It _was_ a lonely life, that couldn't be denied, but lonely was safe. You can't lose what you don't have. "It's easy to be lonely when that's all you've ever known."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

They returned to the room to find that Henry still hadn't returned from his tests. Emma curled up in a chair, still looking thoroughly exhausted. Regina encouraged her to sleep, telling her she had to make some phone calls anyway. Emma just nodded, already drifting off to sleep as Regina pulled out her phone.

She quietly exited the room, dialing Katherine first.

It took three rings before the blonde's voice came over the line. "Hello?"

"Hello, it's me."

"Regina? Thank God! Oh, I've been so worried. How's Henry? Are you still in Boston? When do you get back?"

Regina rolled her eyes. It was just like her best friend to toss out a million questions at once. Sometimes she worried more about everything than Regina did, and she was certainly more quick to show it. "Relax Katherine, Henry's fine. He's doing well. They want to keep him, at least through tomorrow, maybe as late as the end of the week."

"Have you been sleeping? Eating?"

"Yes, I have someone who's been taking very good care of me. Everything's fine. I was just calling to check in and to wish you a happy holiday."

Those were the magic words and Katherine leapt into a holiday horror story about her husband David's attempt to glaze and properly cook their ham. It was all very domestic and Regina listened with one ear as she came up with a plan in her head. By the time she managed to end the call a half hour later, she knew what she needed to do.

She dialed Mary Margaret next. The woman was gracious. She had heard through the grapevine that Henry was sick again, as had the whole town by now, and expressed her concern. Regina kept the conversation short and sweet, explaining quickly why she called and what she needed from the woman. Once she found out what she needed to know, she wished the woman a pleasant holiday and ended the call.

Graham was next. The conversation was even more brief than the one she'd had with Mary Margaret, just a quick check in to make sure the town was running smoothly and that nothing disastrous had occurred in her absence. He assured her everything was as it should be, though covered in a little more snow than usual, but nothing that she should be worried about.

By the time she returned to the room, Henry was back and waiting for her. He grinned when she came in. "Momma!"

Regina held a finger to her lips and gestured to Emma. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"

Henry got the cue to be quiet and lowered his voice. "Better."

She smiled. "Good."

Henry looked towards the tree Emma had set up for them longingly. "When do we get to go home?"

"Soon." She caught his gaze. "Are you upset we missed Christmas?"

Henry turned back to her, shaking his head. "I already got my Christmas wish Momma."

Well this was news to her. "You did? What did you wish for?"

He pointed his little finger towards the blonde, asleep in her chair.

Regina smiled down at her son. "Yea, I wished for her too."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"No, not again." Emma buried her face in her hands, shaking her head frantically back and forth. "Please, no more. Spare me."

Regina smirked. "You said you liked Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

Emma groaned. "I did. The first time. Maybe even the fifth time. But we've watched it eight times!" She buried her head into her hands again. "It can't take it again."

Regina flipped through the channels. "It's either that or Jack Frost."

"Oooh, Jack Frost." Emma bounced in her seat like a little child.

Regina frowned. "But it's so sad."

Emma shook her head. "No, it's not. Not really. It's a tale about love. Sometimes loving somebody means wanting what's best for them, even if it isn't you." She could understand that concept all too well, her choice to give up her child a perfect example.

Regina stared at her for a long moment before flipping the TV to the appropriate channel.

It was nearly noon on the 26th. They'd been up all night watching the claymation Christmas movies, while Henry drifted in and out of slumber. His stats were improving each time the nurses came by to check on him, the blanket was really doing its work.

Emma had to admit that she could get used to this. It wasn't easy for her to confess, even to herself, but she liked being here with Regina and her son. She'd never had this before. A family. Even though it was just the two of them, she had no doubt that's what they were. And for their time stuck here in Boston, for their holiday, they had let her be a temporary part of it.

But it was all tinged with a sadness that was waiting in the wings, ready to swoop in when the time came. This would end. She was leaving Boston for another city. Regina and Henry would return back to their lives in Maine. It was only a matter of time before the fairytale was over.

Regina ignored the movie on the screen and instead watched the blonde beside her. Henry, taking another of the many naps he'd been taking all night, was enamoured with her. Somehow, Emma Swan had slid into their life, inserting herself into their hearts without ever intending to, as if she'd belonged there all along, the proverbial missing piece of the puzzle.

"Regina."

She snapped out of her thoughts to focus on the green eyes staring curiously at her. "Hmm?"

Emma pointed towards the door to the room, where Dr. Mendelson was standing.

Regina stood immediately and crossed the room to the doctor. They both disappeared into the corridor.

Emma couldn't hear what they were discussing. Her attention dropped from the TV to the boy on the bed, worry flooding her system. The doctor had kept on a poker face, the blonde had no idea whether she had been here to deliver good news or bad news. She prayed for the former, but life had taught her to always expect the worst.

It was ten minutes before Regina returned, her own face straight and unreadable. She walked into the room and sat back down in her chair, looking at the bed.

Emma tried to be patient, but the unknown was eating her up inside. "So?"

"Henry's being discharged. We get to go home."

"You don't sound happy about that."

Regina looked at the blonde. She opened her mouth to speak. "I..."

The nurse popped in. "I need to change Henry's bandages."

Regina nodded, her mouth snapping shut again. She studied Emma for a moment before standing. "Take a quick walk with me?"

Emma nodded and got up. She waited for Regina to lead the way out and into the corridor before following. The brunette led her right, away from the nurse's station and lifts. They passed several empty hospital rooms identical to Henry's, as well as a few that were occupied. Once the corridor ended, their only option was to go left or back the way they'd came. Regina went left and Emma followed. She took the next right and they found themselves in a deserted corridor, strewn with unused hospital beds and wheelchairs, waiting until someone had need of them.

"I come here when I need to take a breath. No one ever comes down here." Regina paused to stare out one of the windows.

Emma held back, unsure of what to say or why Regina had brought her here.

"You're leaving Boston, aren't you?"

It wasn't an accusation, but Emma still felt ashamed, as if she had been sneaking out in the middle of the night. "Yes, I am."

"Where are you going?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know yet. I was thinking Cleveland. Maybe I'll go south, Atlanta or Savannah."

Regina was quiet for a long time. She had to approach this right. Emma Swan was like a wild horse, feeling fenced in would only serve to rile her up. It would never do; she'd jump the fence and be off before Regina could stop her. This would have to be approached with patience and caution. "Have you ever considered Maine?"

"Not really."

Regina turned from the window. "I know you're accustomed to cities; it would be a change of pace, but I'd like you to consider Storybrooke. We have need of a deputy at the local sheriff's station. It pays well, and Graham, our Sheriff, he's a great guy."

Emma couldn't believe she was hearing this correctly. "You're offering me a _job_? In Maine?"

Regina nodded. "Storybrooke is not really big, but it has everything you could need."

Emma was still trying to process the fact that Regina was offering her a job. It crossed her mind that the woman was doing this because she wanted to keep her around. The thought warmed her heart. But, she didn't do commitments. Going to Maine, staying around Regina, it was dangerous. She'd lived her life as a nomad because it worked. This could ruin everything she'd built.

Sensing the blonde's hesitation, Regina continued. "We don't have any flats available, but there's a teacher who works at Henry's school, Mary Margaret Blanchard, and she's been searching for a roommate for a while now."

"Mary Margaret Blanchard?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "Now that sounds like the name of a virgin if ever there was one."

Regina couldn't help it, she laughed.

Emma smiled. She was beginning to believe Regina's laugh to be her favourite sound in the entire world. It was enough to convince her. It would only be for the next six months after all. How bad could small town living really be? "Okay."

Regina stopped laughing, unsure she had heard what the blonde had said. "What?"

Emma shrugged. "Storybrooke sounds as good a place as any to spend the next six months and it saves me the trouble of having to look for a job. I'll do it. You got yourself a deputy."


	5. A Glimpse Of Home

DISCLAIMER:: do not own OUAT or it's characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: here is my early christmas present to all of you. work has been so busy and i have no days off, including the holiday, and this wasn't going to be finished until wednesday. however a toothache has kept me up when i normally would have been sleeping and therefore it gave way for this to be worked on. hope you enjoy. i know exactly where i want to take this story, it's just a matter of putting pen to paper (or napkin) and getting it out in a timely fashion. i hope all who celebrate have a happy holiday. reviews would be the best present ever. please. see you all sometime around the new year when i have time off again. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 5: A Glimpse Of Home**

She stared up at the front of the place she had worked for the past six months. Regina was dealing with Henry's discharge paperwork when she'd received a call from Gus asking her if she was still in the city. When she confirmed she was, but that she'd be leaving this afternoon, he asked her to stop by the office before she headed out.

She had been standing out in the cold for several minutes, basking in the bittersweetness of it all. She had liked working here, more than any other place she'd worked. She had known from the very first day that it was destined to be a casualty of her lifestyle, but despite that, she'd grown fond of the place and the two men she worked with.

With a sigh, she opened the door and entered the small office. It was warmer inside, but not enough that she wanted to remove her coat or the hat she had pulled down over her blonde tresses. She rubbed her gloved hands together to get the feeling back in them as she walked through the front room and back towards Gus's door.

She knocked softly before pushing it open. Her former boss sat behind his desk, still as messy as it always had been and always would be. "I hate to think of what this joint is going to look like without me here to class the place up." She grinned in jest.

The old Irishman rolled his eyes. "We survived before you Swan and we'll survive after you."

She knew it wasn't meant to be an insult. He wasn't telling her they were better off without her, merely trying to assuage any guilt she might harbour for leaving so abruptly. He was letting her know it was okay to go, that they'd be fine. It warmed her heart. Gus was like a dad to her; she would miss him.

He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. Like her, he wasn't quick with affection; it was difficult for him. "It ain't no big deal, but I got you a gift. I wanted to give it to you before you left town."

"You got me a Christmas gift?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow. Gus had been adamant about not allowing any Christmas decorations to be put up around the office, claiming the Scrooge defence. He detested the institution of Christmas, openly and without remorse. This was way out of character for him.

"Call it Catholic guilt." He pulled out a long rectangle clothing box. It was white and unwrapped, a huge silver bow attached to the middle its only ornamentation. He held it out towards her.

She took it and immediately pulled the lid off. Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, was something red. She pulled it out, setting the box down so she could hold it up. It was a red leather jacket. It was pliant and well worn, the leather supple and flexible, none of the usual stiffness that accompanied leather bought off the rack. There was something old and well traveled about it. It was something people would look over as they passed it on a shelf. It was neglected and easily passed over. It was so _her_. She stroked her thumbs over it before hugging it to her chest. She looked at Gus, a shy smile gracing her face. Her eyes said more than her mouth ever would. "Gus."

He waved off anything more she was planning to stay. "It ain't no big deal."

Emma smiled as she looked down at the jacket. But it was.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina paced the corridor in front of Henry's room. Emma had been gone longer than she'd anticipated. The blonde had promised her that she just needed to drop by her former place of employment. She said she'd be right back; that had been ninety minutes prior. What if she didn't return? She wouldn't just be disappointing Regina now; Henry was invested in this too. He was already planning out modifying one of the guest rooms into a bedroom for Emma. She'd tried to explain to him that Emma would be living with Mary Margaret, but he'd just rolled his eyes and replied in a patient tone, as if he were talking to someone slower than the average human being, that it was only a matter of time before Emma realised where she belonged. She had to admit that he'd picked up that habit from her.

"Regina, sorry I'm late." Emma jogged breathlessly up the corridor.

Regina's head shot up and she was unable to disguise her relief. "You came back."

Emma's head tilted and she regarded the brunette curiously. "Of course I did. I don't make promises I don't intend on keeping. If I was planning on running, I would have been honest about it."

Regina nodded. "Are we good to go then?"

Emma grinned and gave a quick nod. "All set."

Regina nodded. "You'll follow us?"

Emma nodded in response, patting the pocket of her jeans. "I have your directions just in case we lose each other." She secretly hoped they didn't. There were several turns where Regina had mentioned there would be no sign to indicate if she were on the right road or not. It would be easy to get lost in the Maine wilderness, which Emma preferred not to do in freezing temperatures.

"Momma?" Henry appeared in the doorway of his room, his backpack slung over his little shoulders. He was, by his own decision, back in the footie pajamas with the dinosaurs that he'd been wearing when he'd first arrived. He wrapped his little arms around her hips, resting his head against her side. He looked thoroughly exhausted.

Emma crouched down until she was level with him. "I'd say it's about time we get you home. You got the magic blanket?"

Regina was the one to respond. "It's in the car."

"When you get in the car, just wrap that blanket around you and close your eyes and before you know it, you'll be at home in your own bed."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It wasn't the most eventful late afternoon ride. Traffic was thick with people traveling post-holiday, going home to resume their everyday lives. Her bug was nothing compared to the brunette's sleek black Mercedes, older by over a decade and with close to a hundred thousand more miles on it, but she managed to keep the car in her sights as they navigated the highway up the coast of first Massachusetts and then New Hampshire.

Almost immediately after they crossed into Maine, snow began to crowd in on both sides. Emma was used to the snow. She had chosen to live in Chicago one winter, which had been quite the experience. But this was something different. Maine was sparse. Portland, the city in which she spent the early part of her childhood, was the state's biggest and even it didn't hit a hundred thousand. It would be an adjustment living this far away from everything, but she was willing to give it a try.

As they pulled off the highway and onto the back roads, Regina's Mercedes became much easier to tail. Woods encroached in on the road on either side, closing in around them, protective and intimidating all at the same time. The trees were blanketed in white like everything else had been since they'd entered the state and Emma briefly, though she couldn't be sure she could trust her eyes, thought she saw a wolf pawing its way through the snow just beyond the tree line.

They turned at another nameless road and she saw it, up ahead on the right, the white sign, almost lost among the snow around it. Welcome to Storybrooke. All she saw ahead of her was more forest and the gently twisting road. There was no town, no anything. For the first time since agreeing to take the job, she began to wonder just how small this town really was. And wasn't it supposed to be on the coast? She hadn't seen the ocean since they left the highway.

She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that she hadn't just made a horrible mistake. She was a city girl. The fast pace of life was needed to distract her from contemplating her life too much. She craved the anonymity of it. She wasn't meant for small towns, especially not _this_ small.

They emerged from the trees so suddenly that Emma blinked and they were no longer surrounding her. They emerged onto the main street of a small seaside village. It looked like the town that time forgot. A dilapidated library that rose up to a clock tower was the focal point, its windows and doors boarded up, the clock at its peak no longer in function. They passed a diner and bed and breakfast and across the street and down a little, a psychiatry office. There was a cute pet shelter, a general store. All in all it was a very kitsch little place.

She followed Regina's Mercedes off the main stretch and into the residential part of town. The homes they passed were mostly old Victorians that somehow fit the style of Storybrooke. They were kept in good condition, Regina's influence no doubt, but she saw little quirks of personality that hinted that the citizens of this town retained at least a little of their individuality.

They turned onto Mifflin street and drove to the left, going almost all the way down. It was there on the right. Regina pulled into the driveway and drove her Mercedes into the garage. Emma pulled up in front of the residence's tall hedges and parked. She got out of the bug and walked up to the hedge gate. The house that was partially hidden from view of the street by the hedges was huge. It was white, all clean lines and picturesque columns. The yard was blanketed in untouched snow, even and unbroken. The brick walkway had been kept clear; Regina probably hired someone to sweep it whenever she was away.

Regina and Henry had emerged from the garage and were coming up the side walk. The brunette stepped up onto the stoop and unlocked the door, ushering Henry inside with a phrase that Emma couldn't make out from her distance. The boy nodded, holding the blanket Emma gave him and his backpack. He shuffled tiredly inside.

Regina turned on the stoop and stared down the walkway towards the blonde, still on the outside of the hedge gate. Silently she held out her hand towards the blonde, a silent request for her to come to her.

Emma didn't hesitate. She reached over the gate to the latch on the inside and flipped it, pushing the gate open. She paused long enough to latch it once more and then carefully made her way up the walk. Her hand slipped into Regina's easily.

Regina smiled, pulling the blonde with her up onto the stoop.

Their mingling breaths were visible in the air between them, but Emma didn't mind the cold seeping through their coats when they were standing this close together. She wanted to lean in and graze the woman's lips with her own, but the rules were different out here in the real world.

Regina seemed to read her mind, a smirk surfacing on her face. "I was thinking we could put Henry to bed and then I could cook us something."

Emma nodded. She hadn't intended to stay; she was tired and wanted to get going to her new residence before it got too late. But she had a hard time saying no to Regina, so she didn't. She had wanted to say goodnight to Henry anyway and she did need to eat. It just made sense to take Regina up on her offer. "I'd like that."

Regina squeezed Emma's hand and pulled her towards the front door, still open a crack from when Henry had gone through it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The foyer was open and pristine. Straight ahead was a dining room, equally open and pristine. To the left was the staircase, sweeping up and then around the foyer behind them. Also to the left was the entrance to the great room; Emma could see a piano inside. To the right was the corridor that led to the kitchen and a door, open to reveal a parlour, dimly lit and all dark wood. Again, just as with the night a week and a half ago when she'd been a passenger in Regina's car, she had the sinking feeling that she was not on par with this woman. She bit her bottom lip and tried her best not to let the intimidation of this woman's wealth get to her.

As if sensing her distress, Regina leaned in close to her ear. "**You**, are the single most beautiful thing in this house."

Emma blushed as her eyes shifted shyly up to meet Regina's.

The older woman squeezed her hand.

Henry shuffled out of the great room, still holding the blanket like a shield to his chest.

Emma broke her hold on the older woman's hand and crouched down in front of the boy. "How about I carry you up to bed?"

He nodded.

She leaned down, carefully lifting the nearly weightless boy up into her arms, taking painstaking care to not rub his wounds. She turned back to Regina, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Top of the stairs, turn left, first door on your right." Regina pointed directly above them.

Emma nodded and set off up the stairs.

The second she was gone, Regina set about getting everything ready to put Henry to bed. She measured out his medication and got him a small water bottle from the fridge. She carried it all up the stairs and to her son's room.

Pausing outside the partially open door, she saw Emma sitting on the edge of the bed, tucking the blanket in around Henry. She was smiling down at him affectionately.

Henry yawned but managed to smile sleepily up at the blonde. "You don't have to live with Miss Blanchard Emma. You could live here. I'll share my toys and even let you have more time in the bathroom because Momma says girls need more time than boys to get ready."

Regina's heart broke just a little at his hopeful tone. He really loved having Emma around. Not that she could really blame him, so did she.

Emma leaned down and kissed his forehead, tapping the tip of his nose with a finger as she pulled away. "But that would leave poor Miss Blanchard all alone. You and your mom have each other. Who does she have?" She squeezed his shoulder in a placating gesture. "Don't worry, I'll be around so much, you'll get tired of me."

Regina chose this moment to interrupt. "It's time for your medicine Henry." She carried the syrup over to him and helped him sit up to drink the bitter liquid down. He took a few sips from the water bottle to ease the after taste of his medication and she helped him settle back down, leaving the water bottle on his bedside table where he could reach it.

"Goodnight kid. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Henry nodded sleepily towards the blonde as she signaled to Regina that she'd wait downstairs for her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina surveyed what she had at her disposal in the kitchen. She hadn't had the opportunity to go to market before all the mess with Henry and her refrigerator shelves were glaringly devoid of much to work with. Her cupboards were equally as sparse. There was no time to defrost any meat. She had the makings of a salad, well a weak attempt at one anyway.

She sighed in frustration. If she didn't have the excuse of feeding the blonde, how could she hope to keep her from waltzing off into the night? She wasn't ready for Emma to leave them yet. She wasn't ready for the fairytale to end.

Hands slid onto her hips and a chin came to rest on her right shoulder. She smiled to herself at how natural it felt. It had been a long time since she'd felt something so comfortable and easy.

"Wow." Emma took in the barely there contents of the open fridge. "So, are you into the whole starvation thing then?" She squeezed Regina's hips and placed a soft kiss to the shoulder before her.

Regina pursed her lips. "Our options do seem to be rather limited."

Emma grinned, placing the gentlest of kisses to Regina's cheek. "We just have to get creative is all." Her hands left Regina's hips, a contact Regina instantly missed, and she looked pointedly at the fridge. "Allow me?"

Regina stepped aside. "If you think you can do anything with what I've got, by all means." She gestured the blonde forward, though she didn't sound the least bit convinced.

Emma reached in and grabbed several random ingredients. She placed them on the counter. She started moving around the kitchen as if she'd been familiar with it for years.

Regina hoisted herself up onto the small stretch of counter, barely two feet wide, between the sink and the cupboard to it's left. She crossed her legs and sat back, content to watch Emma work.

"When I was sixteen, I thought I could make it on my own. I was tired of..." She bit her lip, struggling with sharing something so personal. Taking a calming breath, she cracked two eggs into a bowl. "I was over waiting to be picked like some puppy in the pet shop window. I was done with it. So, one day, I woke up, tossed the maybe five possessions I had into the pillowcase I'd pulled off my bed and climbed out the window. I had this jaded view of what it took to make it in the world." She rolled her eyes at the naivete of her sixteen year old self. "I was forced to take any job I could find. I got a job at a twenty four hour diner in the middle of nowhere on route 66, taking the overnight shifts. It was slow, just truck drivers and a few families traveling across country. Roy, the overnight cook, would let me come back into the kitchen and play around when there were no customers; he said everyone should have a basic knowledge of cooking if they wanted to survive on their own."

Regina wouldn't speak; she couldn't. This was the first time since that meeting in November that Emma had let down her walls enough to give Regina a glimpse of the broken soul beyond. The blonde may have a solid, unbreakable exterior, the disguise she presented to the world, but underneath, there were millions of cracks, vulnerable spots that would shatter at the smallest pressure. Maybe that's what drew Regina to her so magnetically; maybe the brunette saw a part of herself in the blonde. Whatever the reason, she wanted to be the person to hold Emma together. She wanted to shelter her. But the first step was finding a way to keep the blonde in Storybrooke.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Remind me to let you cook more often." Regina carried their empty plates and wine glasses back into the kitchen.

Emma followed behind, with a shy smile. She didn't take compliments easily, it wasn't in her nature, but it felt good to know she'd pleased the brunette in some way.

They had both eaten slowly, trying desperately to prolong the meal so that their night together wouldn't be forced to conclude. But they had to finish sometime and the end had come all too quickly. Emma was running out of reasons to justify lingering and Regina was running out of excuses to keep her.

Regina set the dishes in the sink. She'd get to them later. She braced her hands on either side for a moment before turning around to face the blonde. She took a deep breath. "I don't want you to go."

The corner of Emma's mouth lifted in a smile. "I don't want to go." A confession for a confession, just like the first time they'd locked eyes with each other only a month prior.

Regina felt the relief wash through her. "Stay?"

That one word... it was dangerous. Emma knew it was asking for trouble. She couldn't afford to get attached to this place or any of the people in it, even the one who had brought her here, _especially_ the one who had brought her here. She had wrongly assumed it would be easy, as it had always been before, to distance herself from the situation. But looking into Regina's brown eyes was causing her resolve to crumble. She hadn't even been here twenty four hours yet and already scenes of playing happy families with this woman and her son were playing through her mind. She shouldn't stay here in this house tonight; that's what her mind was screaming at her. But there was a louder voice screaming at her that this was exactly where she was supposed to be. For quite possibly the first time in her life, she made a decision to listen to the louder voice.

"I suppose, for tonight, I could make an exception." She nodded. "It's already late anyway."

Regina was nodding and it was a long moment before she realised just how desperate the action looked. She immediately stopped. She glanced down, blushing at her eagerness.

Emma took the opportunity to step forward, her fingers slipped under the brunette's chin and raised it slowly, until the woman's shy eyes had nowhere else to look but into her deep green ones. She leaned forward slowly, her face mere centimetres from the brunette's.

Regina leaned forward and brought their lips together in a soft kiss full of longing.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina considered herself incredibly persuasive. She'd been running this town for a long time. She was a master manipulator, no stranger to the easiest and most direct way to get whatever she could want. But all her powers of persuasion seemed to go out the window when she got in the vicinity of Emma Swan. The woman was her kryptonite, sopping all the powers from her system and rendering her useless.

Her latest failure: getting Emma Swan into her bed. Her desire had been to curl up beside the woman. She'd spent hours watching her sleep in Henry's hospital room over the last few days, unable to hold her, a silent observer when she wanted to be so much more.

But the request had been more ground than Emma was willing to relinquish. She had agreed to stay the night, something that Regina had been thrilled about, but only in the safety of the guest room beside Henry's bedroom. Regina had deployed every tactic she knew to try and convince the woman to relent and slip into her bed with her. They didn't have to do anymore than sleep, but still Emma had politely refused.

Regina had watched with a sinking heart as Emma had placed the gentlest of kisses to her forehead, her nose, her cheek, and then finally her lips. Then she disappeared into the room that was rarely used, never used really, and closed the door. She had just stood there, staring at the closed door, with a look of disbelief. Finally, she had resigned herself to returning to her own room.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma didn't breathe easy until she heard the footsteps retreating down the hall and the sound of the woman's bedroom door closing. It was only then that she allowed herself to move away from where she was pressed against the door. The room around her was fancy but impersonal. The decorations were in neutral hues, meant to be comfortable for either a male or female occupant. The bed was king sized, covered in sheets that were undoubtedly a higher thread count than all the sheets Emma had slept on in her entire life... _combined_. The furniture was all a beautiful mahogany to offset the tan of the walls. There was an empty bookcase, a bare vanity, an unadorned dresser. It was empty, but it felt more like a space she belonged than anywhere else in this house had.

This place was beyond her, more than she'd ever be worthy of. She had known it the second she stepped into the mansion. This was Regina's place, this was her life... Emma was just passing through.

She kicked off her shoes and slipped out of her sweater, opting to keep her shirt and jeans on because of the freezing weather just outside the window. She lifted the duvet and slipped into the sheets. Her pajamas were waiting among her things but she had left them all in the bug and the thought of braving the elements just to grab a pair of flannel pajama pants was not a welcome one. It was just for one night.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Trees surrounded Emma in all directions, as she turned frantically one way and then the next. She was on a small road, tightly packed dirt beneath her booted feet, marked with a variety of prints from all types of people and animals alike. It stretched away before her and behind her until it twisted away into the dense forestation that bordered it on either side. How had she ended up in the woods? Honestly, it looked to be the way into Storybrooke or something quite similar, though the road was no longer paved and the snow was decidedly absent. How had she gotten here? She couldn't remember.

A thundering started behind her, shaking the ground underneath her. She stared at the hard packed earth beneath her feet and, for the first time, noticed the skirts around her feet. The thundering momentarily forgotten, she let her hands travel across her abdomen, her eyes following their exploration. She was in a full skirted dress, a tight bodice was hidden under a leather vest. The dress itself was a beautiful green, just as deep as the dense forest around her, the leather a dark brown. The laced up boots on her feet were supple, made from what appeared to be the same leather as her vest.

The thundering, which had before seemed a cohesive whole, now broke into separate sounds. The distinct pounding of several sets of hooves. She glanced behind her as the sound got impossibly louder. Around the corner came a wall of black. Black stallions rode by men in black armour. Black helmets covered their head, adorned with odd hairlike projectiles that made the men appear as if they had porcupines wrapped around their heads.

She jumped to the side to allow them past. Something inside of her told her it was unnecessary to run. Though imposing, she felt she had nothing to fear from them. She watched as the first pair drew within thirty yards of her. They didn't meet her gaze, didn't speak. That was when she saw what followed after them.

The carriage was powerful and intimidating. In whites and blacks, starkly in contrast with each other. A small window in the door gave its occupants a small view of the world outside the walls of the vessel. The procession pulled to a stop in front of her, the carriage just to her left so she was unable to see through the small window to whoever was inside.

She lowered her head, as if somehow that would make her more invisible to the people around. She never backed down, it wasn't in her nature, but neither was she one to seek confrontation. Only someone important required this much guard.

A guard appeared, opening the door of the carriage wide and stepping to the side. The woman who emerged from inside was beautiful. Her head was ducked down to watch her feet as she descended the two steps down to the ground in heeled black leather boots. Dark curls cascaded down around a deep plum gown, luxurious enough alone to bespeak her position in society, though the jewels that adorned her tan neck would silence anyone still in doubt that they were in the presence of royalty.

The second her heels connected with the ground, the woman looked regally upward, her back straight and rigid. Her chocolate gaze zeroed in on the blonde woman, and a smile pulled up the edges of ruby lips. "My Princess."

"My Queen." Emma barely even recognised the voice that spoke as being hers. She hadn't even intended to speak. Just as she hadn't intended to move, but found her legs carrying her forward until she was standing before the dark woman.

"I know you were terribly upset and wanted to walk, but would you ride the rest of the way with me, darling?"

That's right. She had been upset, angered at someone. Not the woman before her, but someone else, though she couldn't remember who. She had ran away, storming away along the road, walking for hours. She tilted her head and regarded the disinterested expression on the woman's face, just a farce in the accompaniment of the guards, but her eyes spoke volumes, a desperation for her to accept the request. She found herself nodding. "How could I refuse Your Grace?" She took the guard's proffered hand and stepped up into the carriage, followed closely by the dark woman, who shut the door.

The second their travels resumed and the carriage jerked forward again, the dark woman was pulling Emma into her lap, kissing her neck. "I missed having you near me, my love."

Emma gasped as the brunette bit down hard upon her pulse point to emphasize her point. "Regina." Her hands pulled the woman closer, her lips hungrily seeking the darker woman's, crushing them with bruising force. She pulled back, her lips touching down all over the beautiful woman's face, her name falling from between the blonde's lips like a prayer to her own personal goddess between each meeting of her lips to tan skin. "Regina."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The mayor froze in place halfway across the guest bedroom. At the first utterance, she was quite unsure she had heard the blonde correctly, that it had just been a figment of her over desirous imagination. But then it had slipped forth into the air again, and again, and again. Emma was obviously having a dream of some sort. A dream that involved her.

Regina wasn't sure what had brought her here. But she had been unable to sleep, even more than usual. Despite her obvious exhaustion, her body's unwillingness to even move it was so tired, she had just lie awake in the dark master suite, watching the shadows dance across the ceiling above her bed, her mind unable to quit the thoughts of the blonde sleeping just down the hall.

She was rolling out of bed before she'd even thought the situation through. What would she say to the blonde when she showed up at her room? How would she explain this behaviour or her overwhelming and sudden need to be around the blonde all the time? But she found herself standing before the door, knocking softly. When the knock had gone unanswered, she'd merely opened the door and slid in, closing it behind her.

The sweater draped over the vanity next to the contents pulled from the blonde's pockets was the only addition to the empty room; the woman was sleeping in her clothes. The duvet and sheets were haphazardly strewn across her body, half off half on and the woman was shivering.

Regina had moved to cover her up when she'd first heard her name slip from between the sleeping woman's lips. The blonde was calling to her. Slowly, she crossed the rest of the room to the opposite side of the bed. She lifted the duvet and slipped in. She straightened the duvet around them, covering the woman back up. Then she slid in close, cautiously snuggling in close to the blonde's body. Instantly, the shivering ceased. A smile graced Emma's face in sleep and she burrowed in closer to the warm body beside her. Regina felt her heart pound happily in her chest and a warmth suffused her system. Her eyes slipped closed. Within moments she was slipping into the first true sleep she'd had since her son got sick.


	6. Life Story In A Box

DISCLAIMER:: do not own OUAT or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: sorry this update took longer than usual; i'm surprised i got it out at all. i have been sick as a dog for a week now, completely bed-ridden after i passed out at work. i will be fine, just a nasty bug in my system taking up residence in my lungs. doctor says i should be fine by 2013, however i don't know how much i trust that since i still feel like death warmed over. that being said, no updates for anything until after the new year because of this. enjoy and review, it makes me feel better. the response to this story has been lovely.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 6: Life Story In A Box**

Emma kicked at the snow gathered in the gutters with her boots as she crunched her way through the snow heavy streets of Storybrooke. She was thankful for her love of heavy boots, if not her feet would be frostbitten by now. She wasn't even sure where she was anymore. Everytime she reached a crossroads, she just went with her gut when it told her left or right, but she was under no illusion that she knew the layout of this town. It may be small but it was rather spread out, many streets turning off and disappearing into the woods that bordered three sides of the town. She figured if she made enough turns, she'd eventually run into something familiar. Either that, or she'd die of hypothermia.

She hadn't meant to rush out so dramatically after she'd woken. Or rather, she had meant to, but in hindsight, maybe she could have taken a deep breath and a moment to process what she had woken up to. _Regina_.

The woman had been curled up around her body. They had been a tangle of legs and arms, comfortable in each other's embrace. She had pulled herself from that warm embrace almost immediately and proceeded to mentally and emotionally freak out. What had Regina been doing in bed with her? She was positive she had refused the woman's offer to share her bed in the master suite, made all the more evident by the fact that they were in the guest bedroom, not the master suite. That meant that Regina had willingly, sometime during the night, left her own bed for the one in which Emma was sleeping. Why would she do that? Certainly her bed was much more comfortable for her. It was _hers_ for a reason.

The only possible answer that came to mind was that Regina had _wanted_ to be beside her. And that... well, that was just more than Emma was ready to handle at six in the morning. So she'd done what she was best at; she'd ran.

The sun hadn't been up when she'd slipped out of the house, wrapped up in one of Regina's coats from the coat closet by the front door because hers were all still boxed up in the bug. She had only stopped to pull on her sweater and grab her wallet, leaving her car keys there. She didn't want to drive off for fear that she may never come back. At least leaving her car keys meant that she had to return and confront what had happened at some point. That was a step in the right direction, wasn't it?

Every step further she took away from the big white house on Mifflin Street, Emma felt the pain in her heart only increase. She didn't like being away from Regina. This was worrisome. Emma Swan, by her own self-imposed principles, did not need anyone. That was how she'd survived this crappy life she called hers. She was in charge of her own survival. That was how it had always been and it served her well. She didn't need anyone. She **couldn't** need anyone. But that's all she felt when she was around Regina, a deep sense of need.

She turned right at the next cross street and found herself on Main. To her left was the road winding into the trees and out of town. To her right, the small town's main stretch was laid out before her. She looked left. She could go back, get her keys, hop in the bug and get out of here before this **need** became a problem. Something inside of her told her it already was. With a resigned sigh, she turned right and started up Main.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She wasn't sure what had made her stop before the fence with the chipped paint. Maybe it was the quaint atmosphere of the small grey building. The retro sign over the door, proclaiming that this place was Granny's, only added to the time warp feeling of the entire town. The fence enclosed a small courtyard with several tables that were wrapped up to protect them for the snowy season. Another sign with a pointing hand was on the wall of the building next door, pointing to a sheltered garden pathway that led somewhere around to the back of the building. Above the pointing hand it read: Bed and Breakfast.

She walked through the gate and the short distance to the steps that led up to the front door. The bell hanging above it announced her presence to anyone inside who cared to take notice. For a long moment, no one did, too wrapped up in the monotony of a small town morning, and Emma just stood awkwardly just inside the doorway, ignored by everyone. But then a stout man sitting at one end of the long counter, his feet dangling nowhere near close to the floor, looked over and sized her up before muttering "stranger" into his coffee cup. Despite the fact that it wasn't even more than a off-handed murmur, everyone in the diner seemed to hear it and they all turned to collectively regard the woman in the doorway.

Emma felt as if a spotlight had been turned on her. It had been a long while since she'd garnered this much attention from a group of people, even longer since she'd done it with no provocation besides her simple presence. It unnerved her. She felt like she should be doing something, a magic trick, a striptease, a song and dance number, something. They were just _staring_ at her. What was she supposed to do?

A leggy brunette came through the door in the back wall behind the counter, obviously leading to the diner's kitchen. She had an easy smile, tall and beautiful like some model pulled right off a runway. She wore jeans tight enough to rival Emma's own in a bright fire engine red colour. A black long sleeved t-shirt encased her torso, it's deep v-neck barely able to contain her cleavage. A red streak through her long brown hair and the smoothness of her face put her at somewhere around Emma's own age.

When the girl looked around and saw that everyone's attention was on something, she followed their eyes. When she took in the blonde, her grin got impossibly bigger. She walked hurriedly to a booth and quickly set down the order she'd been bringing out from the kitchen before rushing over to the newcomer. She slid to a stop before her, the smile never faltering once. "You must be new around here." She ushered Emma towards a seat at the end of the counter closest to the till.

Emma smiled gratefully, letting herself be led and sitting in the suggested seat. "What gave me away?"

The girl leaned against the counter, still with her ever present grin. "I'm Ruby Lucas. My Granny runs the diner and the bed and breakfast."

Emma tried to return the smile, though the girl's continuing friendliness and enthusiasm was catching her off-guard. You didn't encounter much in the way of hospitality in big cities. But she was no longer in a big city. She'd need to adjust accordingly if she hoped to even begin to fit in. This young woman was like an over-excited puppy with a new toy. But overall, the effect was rather endearing, so Emma decided to roll with it. "Emma. Swan. I just moved into town last night. I'm the new deputy."

Everyone in the diner, who up until now had been overly interested in their breakfasts as if trying to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping, now bent their heads together and began whispering excitedly to each other.

Emma glanced around suspiciously. "What? Don't tell me the last one disappeared mysteriously or something?" If so, Regina had forgotten to share that little tidbit.

Ruby chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just... well, you're not really the _new_ deputy, you're the _only_ deputy. The position has been empty for as long as any of us can remember. I wasn't aware Graham was even still looking. I figured he'd given up by now." She grabbed a fresh mug and poured Emma some coffee.

"Actually, the mayor hired me herself."

Ruby's eyebrows shot to her hairline and the whisperings in the diner increased ten fold.

Emma caught the waitress' change in body language and frowned. "What?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's not like the mayor to trust an outsider is all. She's very pro-community. Everything for Storybrooke."

Emma glanced around. Most of the patrons had the decency to have stopped staring directly at her but she had no doubt she was still being watched. She took a sip of her coffee. It was actually rather good compared to the ghastly stuff diners usually served. She was grateful for the pick me up; she'd need her energy for the day if she was going to have any sort of discussion with Regina. And for the move of course.

Ruby saw her glancing around. "Just ignore them. You're the first new person in Storybrooke in years. The last was... well, Henry Mills actually. Right now, you're all new and shiny. They'll move past it." She moved down the counter to fill several other coffee mugs from the carafes of decaf and caffeinated coffee in her hands, an old pro at her job.

When she returned, Emma gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks Rubes." When she realised the nickname had just slipped from between her lips, she blushed and started to backtrack, but a hand placed over her own stopped her.

"That's what all my friends call me and I have a feeling, Emma Swan, that you and I are going to be great friends."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She followed the path they'd driven last night as she left the general store. She'd gotten directions there and then back to the mayor's from Ruby, who'd looked curious when she'd said that her destination was Mifflin, but had known enough not to ask in front of a diner full of nosy small town citizens. But still she didn't want to press her luck and risk getting lost in a town she still couldn't navigate well.

"Need a ride?"

She glanced over to the man who'd pulled up beside her. He was ruggedly handsome, in that scruffy sort of way. He was rather good looking, though his scarf and wool coat combination made him look more scholar than bad boy. Still, he was a stranger, and that was the first rule in the _How To Not Get Raped Handbook_, **thou shall not ride in vehicle with unknown person(s)**. "No, thank you."

"It's at least two kilometres to the mayor's house. You'll freeze. Plus you have the bags to carry. I don't bite."

Persistent, isn't he? She turned to tell him off, when she noticed the car he drove. A sheriff's squad car. He was law enforcement, which as far as she knew, there was only the one. Her boss. "Graham?"

"That's me." He motioned to the passenger door with a tilt of his head. "Hop in."

She walked around to the passenger side and slid into the warmth of the car, not realising just how cold she'd been until she wasn't anymore. She set the two grocery sacks down at her feet and buckled up. "Thanks, for the ride."

He shrugged. "Wouldn't want you to freeze to death before you even started work."

She rolled her eyes and sat back, watching the town pass outside her window. She needed to get familiar with it if she was going to be patrolling it on a daily basis.

"You're different than what I expected."

Emma glanced over. "How so?"

"The way the mayor talked about how perfect you'd be for the job, I thought you'd be..." He trailed off.

Emma grinned. "Some intimidating butch lesbian with a buzz cut and tattoos?"

He chuckled. "Yea, something like that."

"I assure you, I'm tougher than I look."

Another chuckle. "I'll bet you are Swan."

They pulled up behind her bug in front of the mayor's house.

"So, you gonna be staying here with them then?"

Emma shook her head. "No. I'll be living with a Miss... um, Blanchard I think it was."

"Mary Margaret? You two will get along just fine. Funny that the mayor would find a place for you with her though."

Suspicions rose in the back of Emma's mind. Her hand paused on the car door handle. "Why do you say that?"

Graham shrugged. "It's no secret that Mary Margaret Blanchard and the mayor are about as far from friendly as you can get."

"Why? Is Miss Blanchard awful to her?"

He laughed loudly at the thought. "Try the other way around."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A chill prickling across her arms woke Regina from sleep. Goose flesh covered her arms, the only thing outside of the duvet that had been expertly tucked around her. She didn't have to look to know that the other side of the bed was empty. Emma was gone. She had been for some time.

Somehow, though she had hoped otherwise, a part of her knew that she had pushed Emma too far by crawling into bed with her. She hadn't tried anything inappropriate, but maybe just being together had been too much intimacy for the blonde to handle. She shouldn't have pushed.

Slowly she got up. She didn't really need the confirmation, but still she looked to the vanity. All hope she may have held onto went out the window when she saw that the wallet and sweater were indeed gone. But, wait... were those keys? Emma's keys? She crossed the room to where the keys rested on the vanity. The small set of keys were definitely Emma's. So she hadn't left.

Regina left the room, pausing only for a moment to go next door and glance in on Henry, who was still sleeping. She turned for the stairs and made her way down.

When she hit the ground floor, she knew where Emma was from the smell. Her heart thumped warmly in her chest at the thought. Emma was cooking for her, _again_. She smiled to herself, pausing just a moment before entering the kitchen corridor where her presence would be noticed. Maybe she had underestimated this young woman's emotional capacity. Maybe Emma was able to commit, she just hadn't found a reason to yet. In that moment, Regina realised she would do anything to convince the blonde that she and Henry were her reason.

She padded silently into the kitchen corridor, emerging slowly into the brightly lit kitchen. The blonde was bustling around, bowls littered the counter, the range top had omelets going, fresh toast was waiting patiently in the toaster. Emma looked adorable, her blonde locks pulled up into a high ponytail, still in her clothes from the previous night. Grocery sacks sat on the far counter, forgotten for the moment while she made their breakfast. She looked truly at home here; Regina wished Emma would feel that way.

"I was trying for breakfast in bed, but apparently someone was getting impatient." Emma was still busy, turning the omelets and pouring glasses of juice. The brunette hadn't even realised the blonde taking note of her presence.

"I have never considered patience among my virtues." Regina smirked and stepped fully into the kitchen.

Emma matched her smirk. She stepped over to the island, grabbing a fresh grape from a bowl and dipping into a tan coloured yogurt sauce. She held it up to Regina's lips in offering. Slowly the brunette opened her lips just enough for Emma to feed her the grape. The sauce was amazing. Regina hummed in pleasure. She'd have to keep the blonde around just for her cooking.

Emma grinned and turned, grabbing two plates. She loaded them both with omelets and fresh fruit. A second smaller plate for the toast. Finally a serving plate with two each of waffles and pancakes. "I didn't know what you like."

"What, no bacon?" Regina smiled teasingly. Artery clogging meats weren't exactly her health conscious mind's idea of a well balanced breakfast, but it seemed to be the only thing missing from the blonde's spread.

Emma looked caught off guard. "I could make you some. I'm a vegetarian and I just... I'm not used to cooking for anyone but myself."

Regina grabbed Emma's hand, caressing the back of it with her thumb. "It looks wonderful Emma, thank you."

Emma nodded. She broke contact to grab a glass of juice. "I'm going to just go take this up to Henry. I cut it half with water, like Dr. Mendelson said, so that the sugar won't overwhelm his system."

Regina smiled. "Can we still do breakfast in bed? I'll take all this upstairs."

Emma nodded. "Sure." She bit her lip and turned, jogging up the stairs with the juice.

When she returned to the kitchen to help Regina carry up the rest of the plates, she found the older woman and the plates gone. She hadn't seen her in the guest bedroom as she'd passed to come downstairs. She climbed the stairs again and went to the doorway, pushing it fully open. Regina wasn't inside. Emma heard a throat clear behind her.

"I don't believe we ever agreed upon _which_ bed."

She could hear the satisfied smirk in the brunette's voice before she even turned around. She took a shaky breath. This was not how she expected the morning to go when she'd planned this whole breakfast in bed, discuss our feelings thing at the diner this morning. How was she supposed to maintain her resolve when she was sitting next to Regina in the brunette's own bed? Finding a little bit of her self-confidence, she put a smirk on her face and turned, sauntering up the hallway and past the brunette into her bedroom. "Looks like you finally got what you wanted."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is it that I wanted?" She followed Emma in, closing the door behind them.

Emma looked at her, her face expressionless, giving away nothing. "Me. In your bed."

Regina didn't even try and stop the shiver that traveled down the length of her spine at Emma's words. She couldn't deny it without completely lying, but she was too cautious to admit it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The floor was a graveyard of their discarded dishes. The duvet was tangled around them as Regina lay with her head tucked against the blonde's shoulder, Emma's arm slung around her back, holding her close. There were so many words lingering just inside her lips. She didn't want Emma to go, to ever leave this place. She couldn't tell the blonde how she knew, mostly because she wasn't sure herself, but she knew with certainty that Emma **belonged** here, that she'd always belonged here. She wanted to confess that she thought of very little but her, except Henry of course. She wanted to tell the blonde how easily she fit into their lives, the missing piece to a puzzle she had never realised was incomplete. She wanted to tell her that she loved her. But it was too soon, it was too much.

Emma's fingers traced senseless patterns over the mayor's silk pajamas on her back as the woman lay curled against her. Her mind was at war with itself, as it had been every day since she had locked eyes with Regina Mills for the first time. She didn't do intimacy and yet here she was, wrapped up with the woman on her bed of all places. Every encounter they'd had since their first meeting had been somehow intimate. Emma was beginning to realise that was because it all meant more with Regina. She was still at odds with whether it was about time to let someone in or whether she was walking into a much more dangerous situation than she had ever imagined. Want was not something she allowed herself to feel. Desire was a luxury she did not afford herself. And yet that seemed to be all she had been able to feel from the moment she had stumbled accidentally into this woman's life. She **wanted** Regina, even as everything inside of her told her she _shouldn't_ want Regina.

"If you could do it all again Regina, life, would you do it all the same?"

What a complicated question for someone with a history like hers. It would be easy to say no, that would be the obvious answer. But it wouldn't be very truthful. "Yes, I suppose I would. Every mistake, every bad decision, led me here. If I were to change anything about my life even the smallest bit, there would be no guarantee that I'd have Henry, no way to know that I'd be in your arms now. My decisions, good and bad, got me here. And I like here." She kissed Emma's neck. "Would you have done it differently?"

Emma bit her lip, pondering over the question. She could say she wished her parents had stuck around, but she really didn't. She had made peace with their absence long ago. They hadn't wanted her, and she really didn't care to have people around who hadn't wanted her in the first place. She could say she regretted all the running, but she wouldn't trade all she'd seen for anything. No, there was only one regret that sat heavy on her heart, only one thing that she'd never felt she got quite right. "Yes, I would. There was a boy, from my past, who I wish I could find out what happened to. The second he left my life, I pretended as if he no longer existed. But he's out there somewhere. If I could do it all over, we'd still part ways, but I would check in from time to time, make sure he found happiness. After all, isn't that what all of us are always searching for, our own little piece of happiness?"

Regina felt a lump in her throat. There had been a man in Emma's life, someone's absence she felt to this day. "Did you love him?"

Emma smiled softly. "Yes I did; I still do." She felt Regina stiffen in her arms. Without knowing why, she felt the need to reassure the brunette mayor. "But I wasn't ever in love with him. I've never surrendered my heart to anyone in that regard."

Regina felt relief flood her system. So there wasn't some mystery man out there she had to contend with. That certainly made things easier. "Why haven't you?"

Emma shrugged. "No one's ever really asked for it."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Are you sure we have the right place?" Emma looked up at the run down building they stood before. The squat three story brick building was a mess of cracked bricks and faded paint left from when the building used to house some sort of assembly production factory. The windows were clouded over with old smoke stains that would never come out. All in all, it looked like a crack house in the bad part of the city. Still, there was something she liked about it; it certainly felt more her speed than the mansion did. She fit in here, and no matter how much the white house had felt like home over the past twenty four hours, visually, by comparison, it was not a place meant for her.

Regina frowned at the building; it was obvious she thought it an eyesore. "Unfortunately, yes." She opened the front door and proceeded down the hall, past a single green door and to a staircase at the back of the hall. She climbed up to the second floor where the only decoration of the empty wooden hall was another green door, identical to the first. "Here we are." She stopped before the door and knocked sharply three times. The knocks reverberated through the empty hall.

A few moments later the door swung inward to reveal a petite brunette with pixie cut hair and a kind face. Without even knowing the woman, Emma instantly liked her. There was something soft about her demeanor that said she was someone to be trusted. Her green eyes widened at the sight of the mayor before swinging over to regard Emma.

"Good morning Miss Blanchard, may we come in?"

The woman seemed to remember her manners and nodded quickly, stepping aside and waving them in.

Emma regarded the woman as she passed into the small living space. She wore a dress, knee length, with a full skirt, basic cut, like some 1950's housewife. It was a soft yellow. Combined with the beige of the cardigan she wore over it and the green of her eyes, she was the picture of spring, in the middle of winter. But somehow the contradiction suited her.

The flat itself seemed unable to decide if it was large or small. It was bigger than most of Emma's places over the years, but she had never needed much room, preferring to save the extra money she'd just waste on getting something bigger when she really had nothing to fill the space with. The cracked brick made up the walls indoors too, giving the space a loft-like feel. Emma liked it. There was no walls between the living room, dining room and kitchen, which Emma also enjoyed. It made the space seem more open. A, obviously added, smoky glass wall with a door, made up one wall. A staircase sprung up from the kitchen, leading to more space that she couldn't yet explore.

"Miss Blanchard, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Emma Swan, our new deputy."

The brunette turned a warm smile onto Emma and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Emma shook the offered hand. "Likewise."

"Your room is upstairs; I can show you if you'd like."

Emma nodded.

Mary Margaret turned and led the way up the small staircase. Emma followed with Regina close on her heels.

Upstairs proved to be two separate rooms, just as with downstairs, though the rooms only covered half the area as downstairs, a bathroom and a small bedroom dominated mostly by a twin sized bed with an old metal frame. It was small, it was old, it would do perfectly. Emma gave a nod of satisfaction. Just her size.

Mary Margaret gave her the two second tour and then offered to help Emma bring her belongings up from the car. Between the three of them, they got everything in two loads. They set the measly collection of boxes on the bed and the schoolteacher left them to it.

"You don't have to help me unpack, Regina, I'll be fine." Emma rested her hands on the box marked Clothes.

Regina shrugged. "I know, but I'd like to."

Emma smiled. "Okay, I'll go ask Mary Margaret for some scissors so we can open these boxes." She left the small bedroom.

Regina glanced around the small bedroom in distaste. Emma deserved more than this sad little hovel. If she would just agree to stay with the brunette and Henry, Regina would make sure she was treated like a princess. She wanted to spoil Emma, treat her like she'd never been treated before.

She looked down at the box before her. The tape on this one was older than that on the others and it was unlabeled. One corner was already peeled up. There was no need to wait for the scissors. She pulled gently and the two flaps of the box popped open, exposing the contents of the cardboard box.

On the very top rested something white, another blanket. Regina picked it up. It was small, for a child. Royal purple ribbon was incorporated around the blanket's border, a name embroidered in with matching thread. Emma. She traced her fingers over the letters. This had to be her baby blanket. Regina stroked the soft blanket reverently. It felt special to hold something in her hands that had been with the blonde her whole life. Obviously it had meant enough to her to keep around. She set it aside on the small bed and looked at the other contents of the box. There were two smaller boxes, one was labeled Travels, another labeled Photos, as well as what looked to be an expandifile. The smaller boxes weren't sealed. She pulled back the flaps of the one labeled Photos.

The first photograph she pulled from inside was one that warmed her heart. It was of Emma, maybe Henry's age give or take a year. She was reaching for the lens of the camera as the picture was snapped, one arm where it should be in the sleeve of her sweater, the other not yet slipped through the opposite sleeve, leaving the sweater to bunch up on the shoulder waiting to be put fully on. She was so innocent there, her eyes unguarded, still believing the world held her fairytale out there just waiting for her to stumble across it. Innocence. It was something Regina noticed no longer existed in the eyes of Emma Swan.

"I was still living in Portland when that was taken."

Regina's head shot up in surprise. Emma leaned in the doorway, clutching a pair of scissors loosely in her hand. She didn't seem angry at Regina's intrusion into her personal items, but neither was she smiling. She looked back to the photograph. "It's nice seeing you like this, back before the world stole your hope."

Emma came into the room, closing the door. She set the scissors on the edge of the bed, grabbing the photograph from Regina's hands, she placed it back in the box where it belonged. "I feel so bad shoving them away. I always imagined that once I finally settled down somewhere, I'd get some of those fancy leather photo albums and finally give them a proper place." She shrugged. "Just another of the many things that's never going to happen I guess." She grabbed the baby blanket and tossed it back in the top of the box, pushing the flaps closed and carrying the box over to the small closet, setting it on the floor inside. "Still, my entire world is in that box. The clothes, the other little things, I could replace it all, but the stuff in that box, I could never leave it behind." She turned back towards Regina. "I remember one time, I had just left my flat in Dallas and I was already halfway to Denver and I realised I'd left it behind. I drove all the way back and spent the night in front of the super's door, waiting for him to get home from his other job so he could let me back into the flat to retrieve it. He said it was just a bunch of old stuff, its value not even worth all the gas I wasted coming back for it. But I told him, no matter how far, I'd always come back. It may seem sad." She glanced back over her shoulder at the old box. "But my entire story is in that box."

Regina studied the blonde as she looked forlornly over her shoulder at the box. There was something so melancholy about her. All Regina could feel was a deep need to make her smile again. "Come to Christmas with us Emma?"

Emma's head turned around on her neck, looking at Regina in confusion. "What?"

"Henry and I didn't get the chance to do any of our usual traditions. We didn't get a chance to open our gifts or have Christmas dinner. So I was thinking we could do it tomorrow. I... I'd like it if you could come."

Emma seemed completely thrown by the request, lost somehow. "You want me to come to your Christmas?"

Regina nodded. "Yes, I really do."

Emma's head tilted, staring intently at the brunette as if still waiting for her to laugh and roll her eyes, calling the blonde stupid for even thinking she'd want her to come. As if spending time with them was still a delusion of grandeur. Finally she gave one firm nod. "Okay."

"Wonderful." Regina grabbed the scissors from the edge of the bed and turned back towards the other boxes, not saying anymore on the matter for fear of making the blonde uncomfortable. Her goal was to wear down Emma's defences, but to do that she would have to be something she'd never been before: patient. Regina wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish that, but she knew one thing. She wanted Emma Swan. And Regina Mills always gets what she wants.


	7. The Inclusion Of Emma Swan

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: still sick and still writing slow, but i'm on holiday from all my work starting the 7th of january and continuing through the 28th. Three weeks of nothing but writing time is how i see it, so i'm planning on cranking out as many chapters as i can then like a well oiled writing machine so i can use those to get you through the hellish work season that will follow. three months of not even having time to breathe before i get another break. this chapter didn't turn out how i wanted it to, but it'll do. enjoy and please drop a review if you feel so inclined. it feeds the muse.

PLEASE NOTE:: i do not celebrate christmas myself and have no idea what sorts of things are done, so if the accuracy of their traitions is a little off, all fault is my own and i apologise.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 7: The Inclusion of Emma Swan**

Katherine Nolan heard the front door open and shut in rapid succession as if someone was flying through it rather than walking normally. She heard footsteps on the stairs and barely had two seconds from the moment they reached the second floor landing to block Henry from the intruder before Regina burst through the door. Katherine had never seen her best friend in such a hurry, unless of course, Henry's illness was acting up. But Henry was fine; he was staring at his mom from behind Katherine with just as much confusion as the blonde.

Regina was practically grinning from ear to ear as she looked at her son. "I need your help with a project Henry."

The little boy's eyes lit up, excited at the prospect of being trusted with a task like a big boy. "With what Momma?"

She smiled. "We're going to have Christmas with Emma."

Katherine agreed to go do all the shopping at the market to get all the ingredients for Christmas dinner, while Regina stayed home and wrapped Henry's packages. Then they'd switch and Katherine would finish wrapping while Regina went out to Portland and collected a few items she couldn't get in Storybrooke. There was a lot to do and not that much time to do it. Regina had told Emma to be there at noon the next day.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina sat on her bedroom floor amidst rolls of wrapping paper and boxes, tissue paper and bows. She had a quick cutter next to her for clean edges and one of those wristbands with pre-portioned segments of Scotch tape on her right wrist. She was already through half of the packages. Katherine's was wrapped already, as were most of Henry's. All that really remained was a few more of Henry's still stashed from view in her closet and the little baskets she took around to give to the local businesses as a sign of their continued working relationship as mayor and constituent. Many may call her ruthless and cutthroat, but no one would ever accuse Mayor Mills of not taking care of her own.

A soft knock came at the door and Regina glanced up. It opened an inch and a weary little face curved around the edge of the door. "Can I come in Momma?"

Since his still unwrapped gifts were all hidden safely in the closet, she nodded with a smile. She held open her arms. "Come here and help me darling."

He rushed in and carefully crawled down into her arms. He showed her what he held in his arms proudly. "I did what you asked Momma." He held up his handiwork.

She smiled and placed a kiss on the crown of his head. "It's beautiful. Emma will love it."

For his part Henry had been entrusted with Emma's stocking. Regina always hung a blank stocking with her and Henry's every Christmas in honour of her late father, Henry's namesake, who had passed prior to her son's birth. She never decorated it or put his name so as not to get it confused with Henry's. She had decided it would be Emma's stocking, and had entrusted Henry with putting her name on it.

The stocking, a deep navy velvet with a ring of white velvet around the top, now sported, in crooked silver glittery letters, the name Emma. It was tradition that every Christmas, a patch of some sort was added to each stocking. Regina could only hope that one day Emma's would be as full as hers, just like she hoped the same for Henry. She wanted them both to be around for many Christmases to come.

He grinned at the stocking proudly, happy to have done something to help Emma feel more at home here. He wanted Emma around all the time, not just for him, but also for his Momma too, for how she smiled whenever Emma was around.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina had invited her to Christmas. That, she had not been entirely prepared for. Regina's every offer caught her slightly more off guard. She had barely met this woman not even two weeks ago; they hardly knew each other. Yet, they had shared a bed, to sleep and later when they'd dined and cuddled after. They'd shared kisses, sure, but nothing more, and they had both, by some unspoken agreement, not attempted to discuss what was transpiring between them. Yet the woman was seemingly attempting to incorporate her into her life at every turn. It confused her. What would someone like Regina Mills, obviously established and respected, someone of note, want with someone like her, a twentysomething nomad with no direction and nothing to offer? It made no sense.

She hung up the red leather jacket in the closet, where all her other clothes were already hanging. She smoothed down the supple leather with a smile. There really was something she liked about the jacket. Maybe she'd wear it tomorrow. Should she dress up? Was she supposed to dress up?

She walked out of the open door of her bedroom and to the stairs, jogging down them. "Can I ask you a question?"

Mary Margaret looked up from her cup of tea and nodded. "Sure."

"Regina invited me to Christmas dinner with her and Henry tomorrow. Do you know if I would need to dress formal for that?" She played with the end of her ponytail thoughtfully.

Mary Margaret choked a little on her tea. "She invited you to Christmas dinner?"

"Yea, she never really got a chance to celebrate it in Boston. Neither of us wanted to leave Henry for too long and a hospital really isn't the place to celebrate anyway."

"You _stayed_ with Henry and her in the hospital. I mean... Regina **let** you." Mary Margaret's tone only grew in incredulity, her expression morphing into one of sheer wonder.

Emma shrugged. "She called me and asked me to come. She said she needed me. So I went."

Mary Margaret looked a moment from full on passing out. This was not how Regina Mills operated. She'd known the woman for years and never before had the mayor ever pursued someone's attentions for no other reason than desire to have them around. It was so unlike her. "Before Henry, I'm sure Regina would have insisted on something much more formal; she does love appearances. But since Henry came around, it's pretty much up to him."

"So the kid decides?"

"Henry dictates Regina's entire life." Mary Margaret nodded.

Emma nodded slowly. "Thanks."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina nursed her glass of cider as she sat staring into the flames of the dying fire. She had finally put Henry down for the night after he had stayed up late waiting for her to return from Portland. She had called the shop the moment after she'd left Miss Blanchard's flat and ordered Emma's present. The shop owner had spoken to her as if she were insane when she said she needed them ready by this evening, claiming it was impossible. But her saying she'd add a zero to the end of his asking price had miraculously made the impossible possible and he'd told her to pick them up before seven. Now, it was eleven and there were three packages under the tree with Emma's name on them, one of which was from Henry, who had gone with Katherine to purchase it while she was in Portland.

She knew it would be an early morning. She wanted to get most of the cooking done before Emma arrived so that they could spend as much time as possible together. Tomorrow she would begin to actively court Miss Swan. It was something she'd never done before, relationships had always seemed to fall into her lap throughout her life. It would be quite different to try and convince someone that she was a worthy lover, especially someone as fragile as Emma. The blonde would run at the smallest hint of danger, of that Regina was sure. Treading carefully was not a suggestion but a necessity.

She looked down into the empty crystal of the glass in her hand trying to decide if she should have just one more drink. She knew she should go to bed. The hour was already late. But there was something so lonely about the thought of crawling into bed without Emma. Somehow, in the three days since Christmas Eve, she had become accustomed to having the blonde with her when she slept.

Deciding another drink probably wasn't the best idea, she set the glass aside and watched the flames begin to consume the last log behind the glass screen. It would die out soon and she resolved that she would go to bed when it did. Why prolong the inevitable? She'd have to face the empty king-size bed sooner or later, might as well get it over with while it was still early enough to do something about it if necessary.

She got up, folding the throw she'd tossed over her legs and arranging it in it's place over the arm of the couch. She carried the tumbler into the kitchen and placed it in the sink. She'd wash it in the morning before she started on their Christmas dinner.

She climbed the stairs slowly, still not ready to face the emptiness of her room. She tried to shake it off. It was one night without Emma; she could handle one night. But it was just the first of many, and that was the root of what was holding her back.

Her room was just as cold and uninviting as she had expected it would be. It seemed darker, stranger somehow. She sighed and pulled off her clothes piece by piece, tossing them in the hamper and pulling fresh pajamas from her dresser.

She crawled into bed and lay staring at the ceiling. Her head fell to the side to stare at the empty place beside her. If she closed her eyes she could almost remember how it felt to lay curled up in the blonde's arms that afternoon. She missed the feeling.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Across town, Emma was having just as much difficulty falling into slumber herself. The bed, though small, was surprisingly comfortable. Mary Margaret Blanchard had proved to be a very gracious roommate. Even though she had made some chicken Parmesan for herself, she had graciously made half into an eggplant Parmesan for Emma. They spent well into the night discussing Mary Margaret's students and the town.

Emma was surprised to find that Mary Margaret confirmed everything Graham and Ruby had mentioned about Regina. Emma found it so odd. She had seen none of that from the brunette. She was guarded, sure, but Emma could hardly fault her that. But past the layers of defences was someone who was hurting, someone who felt alone, someone just like her. She didn't tell her roommate that though. She'd just nodded as if she understood completely and they'd quickly moved onto the lighter subject of Mary Margaret's crush on the man who worked at the Storybrooke Pet Shelter.

At ten thirty, after they'd done the dishes, put away the leftovers, and managed to watch a couple episodes of Law & Order: SVU, Emma had insisted that if she didn't go to bed, she'd never be able to get up early enough to get everything she needed to done before going over to the mayor's.

That had been over an hour ago now. Emma had never really had a problem with sleep. She'd found herself in many weird places where she'd had to make do for a night, buses, train stations, back seats of cars, sometimes even out in the wilderness. She'd learned to adapt, to sleep wherever whenever. And yet, she found herself unable to sleep here, for absolutely no reason. Or at least no reason that she was willing to admit.

Her cell phone buzzed on the bedside table. She reached over and grabbed it. Who would be trying to contact her at this time of night? It's not like her phone was known for its high traffic. She was lucky if she got one text message a week and usually it was Troy wanting to gloat about a bounty he'd pulled.

It was from Regina. She opened the message.

**Are you awake?**

She thought about ignoring it. She'd see the woman tomorrow at noon. She needed to put some distance between herself and the brunette if she ever hoped to stay focused on why she was here. But every time she managed to set the phone back down on the bedside table, she just ended up picking it right back up. The text, and the woman who'd sent it, just wouldn't be ignored.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Can't sleep?**

Regina stared at the blonde's reply. _Oh Emma, you don't know the half of it_. She tried to think of a reply. She hadn't really been thinking clearly when she'd sent the first text to the blonde. She hadn't thought about what she'd say if Emma replied, assuming she'd already be asleep. It was five to midnight. For ten minutes there had been no reply and then her phone had vibrated with the incoming text message. Now she had limited options. She could reply with something vague, just a simple affirmative, but that risked losing the younger woman's interest. But if she gave away too much the consequences could be worse.

After reminding herself that she had made a decision to actively pursue the younger woman, she decided to go with honesty.

**I admit I've grown quite accustomed to having you nearby.**

The minutes ticked by as she waited. Had she said too much? Would she even get a reply? Just when her hope was starting to wane a new message popped up.

**Ditto.**

Regina's heart skipped in her chest. In her own small way, it would seem that Emma was missing her too. Before she could formulate her next reply, another message followed the first.

**Care to try something with me?**

Regina raised an eyebrow but decided to play along.

**Sure.**

**This is going to sound odd, but lay down, snap a picture of yourself, and send it to me. There are no perverted intentions here, I promise.**

Her phone buzzed with an incoming picture. When she opened it. It was of Emma, lying with one arm curled under the pillow as if she were sleeping, though her eyes were still open. Regina quickly laid as if she were about to fall asleep and snapped a picture with her phone's camera. She sent it to the blonde.

A few minutes later a reply came.

**Now put your phone on the pillow beside you. I know it's not the real thing, but maybe it'll help you..._us_ sleep?**

Regina couldn't help the goofy smile that found a home on her face. Like the tree in the hospital with its construction paper star, and the blanket that protected those who sleep under it... it was just so Emma.

**I have a feeling it'll do just the trick. Goodnight Emma, I'll see you in the morning.**

This time the reply was almost instant.

**I'll be there.**

And those three words and a phone on the pillow beside her were all it took to cure her insomnia, and Regina Mills slept.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared around the disaster area that was her kitchen. This Christmas dinner was proving to be slightly more difficult to prepare than it had been in previous years. First, Regina was trying to make it mostly vegetarian so that Emma would be able to enjoy it too. With the exception of a small half a honey glazed ham for her and Henry to share, there was no meat involved in any other dish. But Regina was quickly learning that she knew nothing about cooking without meat. She only hoped she was minorly successful.

She looked up at the clock. Eleven. She had one hour until Emma would arrive. She caught her reflection in the stainless steel of one of the pans. Flour dotted her cheeks and had dispersed through her hair. Her t-shirt was speckled with random splatters of every dish she'd spent the morning preparing. She looked a mess.

She rushed around, putting all the dishes into the dishwasher and scrubbing down the counters, making the kitchen look somewhat presentable. She untied her apron, pulling it off and bunching it up, she tossed it next to the sink. She rubbed her hands clean on the dish towl draped over the faucet and ran her hands through her hair. She needed to shower and get ready. A quick glance at the clock told her ten minutes more were wasted. Fifty minutes.

She left the kitchen and jogged up the stairs and stopped at her son's room, knocking on the door. She opened it and peeked in. Henry sat on his bed, still in his pajamas. He was breathing shallowly. Instantly Regina switched into mom mode. She pushed the door fully open and was crouching in front of him, her hands on his knees. "Take a deep breath sweetheart."

Slowly, he took a deep breath. She listened for a rattle, any sign of any fluid in his lungs. There was none. Her hand went to his forehead. He wasn't warm, no sign of a fever. "Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Just tired Momma."

She bit her lip. "It's a big day. You need to take it easy, okay?"

He nodded again.

"I want you to lay in bed and rest while I go get ready, then I'll come and help you get dressed so we can greet Emma okay?" She helped him lay back and kissed his forehead.

As she left the room she felt her heart sink. His energy was non-existent. She shouldn't have planned something like this, something that would stress his system. But he'd been so happy. She considered calling Emma and cancelling but she knew that would cause him more distress now that continuing with the day as planned.

She had to rush through her shower, barely able to savour the feeling of cleaning off all the morning's exertions. She stepped out with only twenty minutes until the top of the hour. She tied her towel around her body and set about blow drying her hair while simultaneously trying to apply her makeup. As soon as she was done she rushed into her closet. Thankfully she had picked out her dress the night before and slipped on some La Perla before pulling it on. She brushed out her hair as she went back down the hall.

Henry looked better. "You look pretty Momma."

She smiled. "Thank you sweetheart." She grabbed a fresh pair of pajamas from his drawers. No clothes with a tight fitting waistline for two weeks, surgeon's orders. The boy lived in footie pajamas. They had easy access and no waistlines, tight or otherwise. They had been her best friend since he got sick.

She unzipped the one's he was wearing, pulled them off and carefully checked each wound. Only one was leaking any. She touched a treated swab to the edge of the angry red wound and it foamed. Infection. She poured hydrogen peroxide on it and wiped away the infection before drying it and wrapping it up. She'd have to keep an eye on that. If it got any worse it would be another trip to Dr. Whale for some antibiotics. Once he was all cleaned up, she helped him into his fresh pajamas and combed his hair into something decent.

The doorbell rang and they both looked up. It was showtime. She held open her arms and he wrapped his little arms around her neck, wrapping his legs around her torso. She held him close and carried him out of the room and downstairs and across the foyer to the front door.

Emma Swan stood on the other side, shifting awkwardly. She had a covered baking dish in one arm and an awkwardly wrapped package under the other arm. The blonde was obviously a gift bag type person. The wrapping paper was askew, the sides uneven. It was endearing.

The blonde herself had obviously made an effort to look her best. Her hair fell in silky waves down around her shoulders. She too wore a dress, a basic black sheath dress with a ivory button up cardigan, probably borrowed from Miss Blanchard, over it. A well worn red leather jacket and supple black leather boots over black tights completed the outfit.

Regina held open the door. "Welcome Miss Swan."

Emma stepped in just enough for Regina to close the door and block out the encroaching winter just outside the door. She stepped up to the blonde and for a moment no one said anything.

Then a huge grin broke across Henry's face and he pointed his little finger upward.

Both women looked up and found that they all stood underneath the mistletoe. Emma smiled and leaned in, kissing Henry firmly on his cheek. He wiped it away with a giggle. Then she turned to Regina, looking at the brunette through her eyelashes. She leaned in and gave the mayor a soft peck on the lips, the briefest of contacts. Still it left Regina breathless.

Henry pecked Regina once on the cheek, breaking the spell and she shook her head slightly to clear away the last of the fogginess. She carefully set Henry down and grabbed the baking dish from Emma's hands. "I'll just go set this in with the rest of the food." She gestured to the present. "Henry, why don't you go set that under the tree with the others."

The little boy happily took the package and skipped off to the living room.

Emma took off her leather jacket and hung it on a free hanger in the coat closet. She tucked her arms closely around herself and followed Regina towards the dining room. The dining table was already all set up with piles of food. The smells were heavenly.

"What's first on the agenda?" Emma leaned in the doorway.

Regina set down the dish, cobbler, with rest of the desserts. She came back over and stopped next to Emma. "Cookies."

"Cookies?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "I'm not used to this whole formal dinner thing, but aren't we doing it backwards? Isn't dessert usually last?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "We cut them out now and then we eat while they bake, so they're fresh out the oven when we're done. We open packages while they cool enough to decorate and then they're ready to eat while we watch movies."

Emma nodded just as Henry rushed back in. His little hand slipped into hers and he pulled her towards the kitchen. "Come on Emma, you can help me cut out the trees."

Five minutes later they were well under way. Emma had hefted Henry up onto the center of the counter where he commandeered a flattened sheet of cookie dough and the Christmas tree cutter. Emma had taken the star cookie cutter. Regina was alternating between the snowman and stocking cutters, setting the fresh cut cookies on greased baking sheets as they cut them.

Emma caught herself stealing glances at the brunette as she moved, silently in awe. Every few passes between where she was cutting out shapes and depositing some on the cookie sheet, she'd somehow make contact with Henry, nudging his foot, touching his shoulder. She was very much the doting mom. It was all Emma had ever dreamed of as she was growing up. She'd dreamt of childish traditions like opening gifts around the tree and making cookies with her mom. Henry was living the life she'd always wished she could have, the life she hoped her own child had out there in the world wherever he was.

Finally, they had three sheets in the oven and three more waiting to take their places when those were finished. Henry led the way out through the side door and straight into the dining room. He couldn't handle much in the way of food yet, doctor's orders, but that hardly meant he wasn't hungry.

Regina chuckled and followed him, grabbing Emma's hand as she passed. "Come Miss Swan, the little prince won't be kept waiting."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma helped Regina carry in the dishes while the woman removed the cookies from the oven and put them on wax paper to cool until they would be ready to decorate. She put the second batch in the oven as Emma finished bringing the dishes in. Henry was already getting ready to open packages by the tree in the great room.

Regina closed the oven and turned, looking the blonde up and down, finally taking a long moment to appreciate the younger woman.

Emma turned from the sink and froze. Regina had a predatory smirk on her face. Emma's eyebrows shot to her hairline. If Regina was the predator, then that meant she was prey.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier how good you look Emma."

Emma blushed, hugging her arms around herself self-consciously. "Thanks. I try."

Regina offered her a reassuring smile. "You succeed."

Emma blushed and shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to genuine compliments. She could handle pick up lines from sleazy men in bars, mostly because she knew after that one night with her child's father that she really wasn't interested in that kind of attention. It was rather easy to flirt when you knew that you'd never let it go beyond that. But this... this was something much different. "Henry will be wondering where we are." She pushed off the sink and headed for the hall to the foyer.

Regina caught her wrist as she passed, stopping her and pulling her close.

For a second, Emma let herself be held. She sank into Regina's embrace. For a moment she let herself believe that this was real, that it wasn't just some projection of the older woman's fragile state. She'd been vulnerable and Emma had been there for it. It was an emotional draw, nothing more. Were this any normal day, Regina wouldn't give two shakes of a lamb's tail about her. She pulled back from the embrace. "We really shouldn't keep Henry waiting." She turned and left before Regina could pull her close again.

Regina sighed and reluctantly followed.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Henry was nowhere to be found when Regina finally entered the great room. Emma was just standing in the middle of the room, between the two couches looking around. When she saw Regina she put a finger to her lips and pointed to the throw that Regina had been using to warm her legs last night. It was no longer draped over the arm of the couch where she'd left it, but now piled up on the cushion, a decidedly five year old boy shaped lump prominent under it.

"I don't see Henry anywhere." Emma said it comically loud. A giggle emitted from under the blanket though both women chose to ignore it as if they hadn't heard.

Regina grinned. "I guess he must not want all those presents. I guess they're all yours Emma."

That got no response, but there was no giggle either.

Emma smiled and shrugged. "Cool. Let me curl up on this nice comfortable throw and open them." She tiptoed over to the throw and slowly began to put pressure as if she were sitting on it.

Henry flipped it off, laughing.

Emma jumped with a playful yelp of fake surprise. "Oh there you are! Look Regina, he was here the whole time."

"He fooled us."

Henry grinned between the two women, proud that he'd tricked them so smoothly.

Emma sat down at the opposite end of the couch.

Henry scrambled off and grabbed Regina's hand. "Come sit Momma."

Regina squeezed his hand. "Why don't I help you pass out presents? Some of them are very heavy."

Henry nodded his agreement and they both went to the tree.

Emma sat back on the couch, content to be an observer on this part of their holiday. Her eyes caught sight of the star she'd given Regina as part of the Secret Santa gift, sitting dead center towards the top of the tree. The sight of it warmed her heart, for a moment made her feel like she belonged with this family. She could have laughed at the growing pile on the rug in the middle of the room where Henry had chosen would be his space to open his gifts. It was a small mountain really. A much smaller pile was forming on the other side of the couch, where Emma assumed Regina would be sitting. Most were addressed to Mayor Mills, gifts from constituents and the like no doubt. A couple others, wrapped just as nicely as Henry's gifts but with a slightly different flair, had tags written to Momma in a child's hand. She couldn't believe Henry had actually wrapped them that well, he must of had help from some other adult. Mary Margaret had mentioned that Regina's best friend babysat him a lot. Perhaps she had helped.

And then a wrapped package fell onto her lap. She looked up in shock into the grinning face of Henry Mills.

"This one is from me."

Emma looked back down at the small package in wonder, completely speechless. Henry had gotten her a gift. How? _When_?

"And these are both from me." Regina set two more wrapped packages beside her, one the typical clothing box size and one rather large rectangle shaped one. She felt the couch sink a little under the weight of the bigger one. Whatever it was, it was heavy.

"I..." Emma's mouth opened and closed several times as her brain tried to form words, any words, be they brilliant or stupid, just anything. But speech failed her.

Luckily, Regina seemed to catch on and she just smiled. "Merry Christmas Emma." She ushered Henry back over to his pile and gave him permission to dig in. She sat beside her own small pile and silently began to open them.

Emma was still staring at the packages with her name written on them. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill. They had included her. They'd let her come to their holiday celebration, they'd shared their traditions with her, they had gifts under their tree for her. As if fate was whispering in her ear, her eyes caught sight of the mantle and the stocking with her name in uneven silver lettering across its front. Her finger traced the edge of the wrapping paper and she slowly peeled it up on the sides. She pulled up the tape where she found it, refusing to rip the paper as if it were made of solid gold. It might as well be for how much it meant to her. She folded it reverently and set it beside her as she stared down at the small box before she slowly pulled off the lid. Inside was a delicate silver chain. At its end was a small pendant, a flattened disk of silver with a swan in the middle, like a wax seal they put on envelopes in the olden days. She ran her finger over it before carefully lifting it from the box. She unclasped it and slowly brought it up around her neck, carefully, as if at any moment she expected someone to come snatch it back, to say that there had been some mistake and it wasn't really meant for her.

Next came the smaller of Regina's gifts. It was unwrapped with the same care, the paper folded once more, joining the other folded square of paper. It was a generic white shirt box. She opened it to find a beautiful winter set, a scarf, hat, and gloves, all made of the softest yarn, some kind of mohair dyed dark green. If the weather since she'd arrived in town was anything to go by, she'd make good use of these. She set them back in the box, tucking in the squares of wrapping paper and setting it all aside.

Finally she turned to the big one. Again it came unwrapped with the same painstaking care as the two that had proceeded it. She was left staring at a large white box. Unlike the shirt box, this one had a gold design of some company she'd never heard of. Under the swooping golden loops was the name _The Golden Quill_. Below that was the place's address, in Portland. How had Regina gotten this from Portland in less than a day? Surely it was a regift. She opened the lid of the box and came face to face with something that made her heart catch in her chest. Inside, stacked one on top of the other, were three large old fashioned leather photo albums. The leather was a soft gray. Embossed upon the top left corner of each volume in silver was a beautiful swan. In the belly of each bird was a loopy silver E. They were personalised, _for her_. This was no regift, this had taken thought and effort to make happen.

She felt on the verge of hyper-ventilating. The world had fallen away around her and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the soft gray leather. Photo albums, a secret desire she had told Regina about only yesterday. The tears that had threatened to spill only minutes before when she was staring at the still-wrapped packages, now began to trail down her face. She put the lid back on the box and stood. She couldn't let Regina or Henry see her like this. She had to clean herself up, make sure she was presentable once more. The bathroom in the kitchen corridor. She stood abruptly and left the room, mumbling about needing to use the bathroom in hopes that they wouldn't be alarmed. The second she hit the foyer, her feet carried her straight across and into the kitchen corridor opposite. She hurried halfway down and slipped into the small first floor bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning back against it. She swallowed deep lungfuls of air and tried to compose herself.

She had not expected this. She hadn't expected this at all. Just receiving presents had been shock enough. She felt the pendant Henry had given her burning to be noticed where it lie against her breastbone. Her hand slid up her torso to her neck and she clutched it. And the photo albums. She closed her eyes. This wasn't some pity-induced generic gifts. Thought had gone into them; they'd been wrapped and placed under that tree with the intent of including her. They wanted her to be a part of their holiday. Truly a part of it.

A knock against the other side of the door startled her and she leapt away from it as if it were about to topple over on her. Her tears had stopped but they had left evidence of their presence in trails down her cheeks. The knock came a second time.

"Emma?"

"I'll be out in just a minute." She cursed her voice for being thicker than it normally was, yet more evidence that she'd been crying.

"Emma, open the door, please." Regina's voice was soft, concerned.

Emma sighed, trying to wipe away the worst of the tear streaks with the sleeve of her borrowed cardigan before she unlocked the door. "It's unlocked, you can come in."

The door opened slowly and Regina slipped in, closing it behind her. She looked the blonde up and down, her concern written all over her face. "Are you alright?"

Emma bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yea, I'm fine." She couldn't meet the brunette's probing gaze, couldn't face her concern.

Regina stepped forward into the blonde's personal space, putting a finger under her strong chin and lifting it until the woman was forced to look into her eyes. She saw the evidence of the girl's tears, but chose not to embarrass her further by pointing them out. It was obvious that their presence made Emma uncomfortable. Now that she firmly had the girl's attention, she released her chin to push her golden locks behind an ear.

"Why?"

Regina seemed to understand the vague question perfectly. "Because I want you to be a part of our world. I'm really glad you're here with us."

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but the shrill beep of the timer for the second batch of cookies interrupted them. Emma's mouth snapped shut and Regina reluctantly opened the door and went to get the cookies out before they burned.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

An hour later it was hard to determine if there were more frosting and sprinkles on the cookies or on Henry. He tried to be a modern day Da Vinci with the cookie decorating and they had an array of orange Christmas trees and pink snowmen. There were yellow stockings with purple sprinkles and blue stars with green sprinkles. Emma loved it. Regina just tried to corral the mess as much as possible.

Finally, they were all frosted and Emma carried Henry to the bathroom to clean himself up while Regina took some cookies and juice upstairs to the family room. They had a stack of Christmas movies to watch and she was in charge of picking the order.

The brunette looked up from the couch in the family room as Emma carried Henry in on her hip, looking like she'd been doing it for years. She set him down on the couch next to his mother and he immediately snuggled up to her side, burrowing against her. Emma sat down on his other side. Regina unfolded a blanket and tossed it across all three of them before pressing play on the remote.

Henry made it through _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_ (both versions) and _The Year Without A Santa Claus_, laughing heartily as Emma sang word for word each of the Miser Brothers' songs. But they were only twenty minutes into _It's A Wonderful Life_ when he was down and out. Regina took him to bed, where he insisted on curling up with the book Emma had gotten him for Christmas, an old looking thing with the title _Once Upon A Time_ in elegant script across it's brown leather front. She'd have to ask the blonde where she got it; he already loved the thing.

When she returned to the family room fifteen minutes later, it was to find Emma laid out along the length of the couch, leaving no room for Regina. She raised an eyebrow and in response the blonde lifted up the blanket and gestured down her length with her free hand before beckoning Regina with a finger.

She smiled and ever so slowly lowered herself down on top of Emma, who just tossed the blanket over her, wrapped an arm around her and snuggled down into the couch, her eyes going back to the movie.

Regina found it increasingly hard to focus on the movie playing on the screen when Emma's body was pressing so deliciously against hers. She nuzzled the neck of the woman under her, placing gentle kisses to the flesh she found there, smiling as the blonde hummed appreciatively.

It took a few more minutes of Regina's attentions before Emma gave up on the movie and turned to look at the brunette, who paused to stare down into green eyes. Then Emma's lips connected with hers. Regina sunk easily into the kiss, on hand threading into golden hair, holding the younger woman's mouth to hers.

They didn't stop kissing until the music signaling the ending credits started playing. Regina switched the television off and looked down at the woman spread out beneath her. "Stay the night with me Emma?"

Emma nodded softly.

Regina smiled and got up, holding out her hand, her smile growing as Emma took it without hesitation. She led the woman down the hall to the master suite. This time Emma didn't object. She retrieved two sets of pajamas from her dresser, handing one to Emma.

The blonde pulled off the cardigan slowly, then she sat on the edge of the bed and peeled the tights off. She unzipped the back of the dress and let it slide down her body.

Regina felt her mouth go dry as Emma stood to step out of the dress and she turned her back towards Regina in nothing but her lingerie. She hadn't expected Emma Swan to be a lace woman, but she was, the soft blue lace barely covering the full curve of her backside. Here and there, small imperfections marred the skin of her back, scars from days long past. Regina resisted the urge to press a kiss to each and every one. A moment later they were covered by the silk of the pajamas.

Regina stripped out of her own dress, sliding it down her legs just as Emma turned around. The girl immediately blushed and raised a hand to cover her eyes, muttering an apology as she did. Regina chuckled and stepped forward, grabbing Emma's hand and pulling it away from her eyes. She brought her lips to the blonde's once more, stroking her cheek softly. Emma's hands came up, sliding delicately over her hips, reveling in the feel of bare flesh underneath her fingertips.

It took all Regina's willpower to pull away and finish slipping into her own pajamas. It was too soon for all that. As much as Emma was allowing her tonight it didn't change the fear she'd saw in the woman's eyes when they were opening presents. She was scared and that meant she was one step away from bolting. She turned down the duvet and crawled into her side of the bed. Emma did the same on the opposite side. Instantly, Regina was curled up against her. Both women barely had enough time to mutter a goodnight before they were drifting off.


	8. Shifting Focus

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: thank you for all continued interest in this story. it will pick up eventually, but right now i really like the pace it is going.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 8: Shifting Focus**

Emma could easily get used to waking up in the bed of Regina Mills. Not only were the high thread count satin sheets the most comfortable she'd ever slept on, but the feeling of the soft arms wrapped around her torso, the face buried against her neck, the silky hair tickling her jaw, it was all more perfect than she could ever remember anything feeling. There was something so safe about this place, as if it was what she'd been searching for her whole life. It was home. And that was precisely why she knew she should get out of here as soon as possible.

She softly moved the mayor's arms from around her torso. The brunette did not make it easy on her. On her first attempt, she got one arm partially off before the woman grunted in her sleep and slipped it back to its former position. Emma held her breath for several seconds, sure that the woman was seconds away from waking up. But once Regina gave a satisfied sigh and her hot even breaths were once more puffing against Emma's neck, the blonde tried again.

Her second attempt managed to remove one arm completely but the second proved much more difficult. The brunette shivered and curled closer, though she didn't throw her arm back over. Emma couldn't stop the smile that crept across her lips. Even in sleep, Regina wanted her close. She knew she couldn't get used to this, the woman's affection would most certainly be fleeting, but she allowed herself a moment to revel in the feeling that had settled inside her, that feeling of content.

But after her moment was through, she forced herself to move from the woman's embrace. She quickly slid off the bed. Regina's body instinctually curled into the heated space on the mattress where her body had just been, making due with the remains of Emma's body heat in the absence of the real thing. Emma wanted to crawl back into bed and kiss her, but she forced herself to turn away.

She made a beeline for the en suite bathroom to wash her face and collect her thoughts. She found a spare toothbrush in one of the drawers and brushed her teeth, staring at herself in the mirror. Even to herself she looked happier. There was no denying that she liked it here with the mayor and her son. She was trying to keep up all her defences around the brunette, retreating behind her walls where it was safe, but Regina was being patient, the gallant Knight standing outside the fortress walls and calling out to the Princess hidden inside.

She took a deep breath and pushed away from the counter. Regina was still curled up on the mattress, fast asleep, when she returned to the dim bedroom. She went to the door of the bedroom. She wouldn't sneak out at dawn like she was the mayor's dirty little secret. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She'd make Regina some coffee and then, once everyone was up and they'd had a post-Christmas breakfast, she would bow out gracefully. She owed the brunette at least that much.

She was halfway down the stairs when she heard the door open. She looked back up to the second floor landing. Henry was standing on tip toes, just tall enough to peer over the railing down at her. She offered him a soft smile.

"Hey kid, what are you doing up?"

"My tummy hurts; I can't sleep." He pouted down at her, his hazel green eyes making her heart melt.

Emma only hesitated a moment before she beckoned for him to come down to her.

He grinned tiredly before bustling down the stairs to where she waited.

She picked him up, tucking him on her hip and carrying him down the rest of the way down the staircase. She carried him into the kitchen, setting him down on the counter. She offered him one of the many cookies left over from their baking expedition the previous day while she set about starting the coffee for Regina.

"Em-mah?" Henry managed not to mangle her name too badly as he tried to speak around the snowman head currently being chomped away in his mouth.

"Hmm?" She pressed start on the coffee machine and turned to the fridge to grab a juice bottle for the tiny boy.

He swallowed the piece of cookie in his mouth before continuing. "I really like when you are here with us. It's happy."

Emma smiled. It warmed her heart that he had formed as much of an attachment to her as she was starting to form to him, but this was too serious a conversation to be having with a five year old, someone else's five year old at that. An idea struck her then. "You know, when I was a kid and couldn't sleep, I used to sneak up to the attic and go through the old game chest in the playroom."

Henry lit up. "Momma keeps the games in a cupboard in the family room. Can we play one?"

Emma nodded. She lifted him down off the counter. "Why don't you go to the living room and sit down and I'll go upstairs and grab something for us okay?"

He nodded and ran off to the living room with his juice and another cookie he snagged off the platter.

She shook her head after his retreating form and went back into the foyer and upstairs to the family room. It was still messy from their previous activities the night before. Emma paused a moment just inside the doorway, her mind drifting back to last night and Regina's assault on her neck. They'd left all the snack bowls and blankets strewn all over. She stepped around them as she navigated her way to the far side of the room and the cupboard that she assumed was where the mayor kept the board games.

She opened it to find a plethora of every game imaginable. Jenga, Apples to Apples, Guess Who, Monopoly, Life, Candyland, Battleship... they were all there, all in pristine condition, stacked in an orderly fashion. She browsed each of the boxes until a lonely one caught her eye, tucked half under Trouble and half under Yahtzee. A grin spread across her face as she reached in and grabbed the box. It was still sealed, even better.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina woke slowly, her limbs tangled up in the sheets of her bed. She was alone. She glanced quickly around the room and to the open door of the en suite bathroom. The room beyond was dark. Emma wasn't in there, and she wasn't in bed. Regina crawled to the edge of the mattress and peeked over, feeling an all consuming sense of relief when she saw the blonde's clothes still pooled on the floor. There was no way Emma would have run back to Mary Margaret's in the borrowed pajamas she'd slept in. She was still here in the mayoral mansion, just not in the mayoral bed.

Regina sighed. It wasn't what she preferred, but she'd take what she could get. She slipped out of bed, stretching as she stood. She looked down at their discarded clothes. It had been a long while since she'd let loose enough to not be bothered by the mess, even longer since she'd born witness to someone else's clothes strewn across her bedroom floor. She could get used to the mess. She smirked as she stepped over the piles to reach the bedroom door.

She couldn't dampen her smile as she made her way downstairs, the carpet muffling the fall of her bare feet. She heard Emma and Henry giggling in the living room. She paused on the bottom step, one foot on the ground floor, the other on the first step, and her hand on the bannister. She wanted to take a moment to let it sink in, the sound of her son's pleased giggle with Emma's unrestrained chuckle. She wished she could imprint it in her mind.

She stepped off the silent safety of the stairs and to the edge of the archway that led into the living room. The sight that greeted her warmed her heart. Emma was sitting on the ground on one side of the coffee table, Henry was on his knees on the opposing side. Emma's hair was still gently tousled from sleep, still in her borrowed pajamas. She was staring at Henry with a look Regina couldn't quite place. It almost looked like gratitude. Spread out between them on the low table was an open box and what seemed to be hundreds of little jigsaw puzzle pieces. They were divided into little mini mountains, at least five piles that, from where Regina stood, seemed to have no rhyme or reason to their order. The perimeter had already been laid out and they were now each concentrating on separate areas. Henry was working on what appeared to be some sort of yellow blob and Emma was tackling a large stone structure.

Henry had a look of concentration on his face, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth as he focused. His eyes were narrowed, a piece pinched firmly in a three finger grip as he scoured the mess of jagged edges looking for its place. He tried several times before grinning as it slipped into place, interlocking easily when he found its correct spot. He clapped his hands together once in triumph.

Emma grinned. "Good job kid."

Regina bit her bottom lip as she watched the two people she loved most in the world sit silently together, each focused on their separate parts but somehow still together, still bonding. Henry was obviously enjoying himself. Somehow Emma Swan had taken an activity that his body would allow him to actually do and made it fun for him. She'd understood his limitations and had worked within those parameters... just like a mother. This was how it should be. Emma, Henry, and her, like this.

Finally ready to let her presence be known, she stepped away from the archway and into the room. She leaned down, placing a gentle hand on the side of Henry's head as she kissed the top. He offered her a brief smile in greeting before going back to his task. For Emma, she offered a similar greeting, leaning down to kiss the woman's temple. "Good morning darling." It was just a whisper into the blonde's ear but she noted, with pleasure, how the woman shivered ever so lightly at her words.

Emma gazed up into brown eyes, the puzzle momentarily forgotten. "I put some coffee on for you and I had Henry take his morning meds with his juice."

Regina hummed softly in gratitude, her fingers stroking softly down the younger woman's cheek. "Thank you dear. Would you like some coffee?" She straightened.

Emma shook her head. "Henry was kind enough to share his juice. Do you want me to make breakfast?"

Regina shook her head as she walked back toward the foyer. "I'm not totally inept in the kitchen Miss Swan. Continue your puzzle and let me cook for a change."

Emma smirked after the retreating form of the mayor. She had always seen scenes like this on television and thought how she would hate to have a life that was so ordinary and domestic. But as her eyes slid back to the boy who hadn't paused in trying to work out the puzzle before him since she'd presented him with the box twenty minutes earlier, she couldn't help feeling like maybe she'd underestimated those moments on the silver screen. Maybe domesticity would do her a little good.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Don't go Emma!" Henry pouted as the blonde tucked in the blanket around him. Their puzzle wasn't even halfway finished, abandoned on the coffee table for later when they had more energy and Regina had given him a cloth bath, since he couldn't submerge his wounds for another four days, after dinner. He'd asked for Emma to tuck him in and Regina had easily relinquished the duty to the younger woman.

Now, as she stared down into his pleading eyes, she realised her mistake. He had lured her in here under the guise of tucking him in and reading him a bedtime story from the book she'd gotten him for Christmas, all just to guilt her into dwelling in a place where she'd already overstayed her welcome.

"I have to go Henry. I don't live here."

"But you could!" He jutted his lower lip out even further as if to do so would instantly break her resolve. "I know Momma would let you. She misses you when you go."

Emma felt her heart skip a beat at his words, but quickly she snuffed out the unwelcome emotions. She couldn't trust the word of a five year old. Even a child as great as Henry Mills was turning out to be, could lie to get what he wanted. Just because he wanted her around, didn't mean Regina did. And if there was one lesson Emma had learned in her life, it was that even the ones who started out with every intention of keeping you, always changed their minds at some point.

"I'll come by and visit. We'll see each other all the time. I live just across town." She wasn't sure why she felt such a need to placate a five year old, but something inside of her just couldn't bear to see that look of disappointment on his face. He looked so heartbroken.

Realising he wasn't going to win the fight tonight, Henry gave a solemn nod.

Emma smoothed down his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Don't finish the puzzle without me, okay? I'll see you soon kid." She stood and crossed the room, flicking off the light and closing the door behind her.

It had taken her all day to change out of Regina's pajamas. She liked the feel of the silk against her skin and even more, she liked the idea of being wrapped up in something that had previously only been wrapped around the brunette. But as Regina had bathed the boy, she'd reluctantly slipped back into yesterday's dress and loaded her three presents into the passenger seat of her bug. There was no reason for her to stay.

Her hand slid across the railing as she slowly descended the stairs towards where the fire was burning in the living room. The rest of the ground floor was dark, leaving little doubt of where Regina had chosen to spend her evening. She shuffled into the room.

Regina was on the couch, studying the partially finished puzzle. She took the piece in her hand and placed it calmly, with certainty. "I haven't done a jigsaw in years."

Emma sat delicately on the edge of the cushion beside Regina. "When I was living at the group home in Portland, they kept all the toys in this worn leather steamer trunk in the attic. I used to wait until everyone was asleep and then crawled out the window onto the fire escape. I snuck up to the attic and jimmied open the chest. There wasn't much in there that wasn't broken, but there was this value pack of six puzzles that had barely been touched. I'd clear off this space in the corner of the room next to the old rug and then just spend hours putting them together. I'd just move the rug over my progress so that no one would suspect a thing and sneak back to bed before dawn." She smiled at the memory. "I must have done those same six puzzles a million times each. Sometimes, when things are bad and you don't want to face them anymore, it helps to find something else to focus on. When I would do those puzzles, for a while, I forgot that my life was crumbling. For those few hours, I could escape."

She met the intense brown eyes of the woman next to her who was now regarding her with as much scrutiny as she had the puzzle. Her head was slightly tilted and she was hanging on the blonde's every word. Emma was a little unsettled by it.

Regina watched as the woman shifted uncomfortably under her gaze as she realised what she'd just confessed. It was obvious the blonde was not used to anyone caring about what she said, especially when it was such a mundane detail as what she used to do to pass the time. But Regina loved these unobstructed little views into who Emma had been, all these little details made her who she was in that moment, the woman who Regina was falling in love with.

Emma offered the brunette an unsure smile. "Well, thank you, for yesterday, and for today. I had fun." She stood abruptly. "I should go."

Regina stood too, unable to muster the courage to ask her to stay though she desperately wanted her to. "Do you really have to go?"

Emma looked at the woman curiously. "I..." She was thrown off by the question. Of course she had to go; she didn't live here. She just nodded and moved into the foyer. "Graham told me I start work bright and early on the second. I'll be there."

Regina saw her opportunity for more time with the blonde slipping away. It was the twenty ninth of December; they only had three days left before the real world would come rushing back in. She wanted to spend those days with Emma, before she was reminded that she was mayor of this town and she had responsibilities. "New Year's."

Emma paused by the front door. "What?"

"I was planning on taking Henry to New York this year for New Year's Eve. He's always wanted to go, but now, with the surgery, well we have to stay home and I was just wondering if..."

Emma held up a hand to stop her rambling. "I'd love to."

Regina let out a breath of relief. "Wonderful. Henry will be so excited." She strolled over to where the blonde was waiting by the door.

Emma watched her come. She knew she should turn and leave, but she couldn't seem to make herself move.

Regina slid into the blonde's personal space. "Thank you Emma, for spending Christmas with us."

Emma smiled shyly. "It was my pleasure. Thanks for the..." She was cut off as Regina's lips covered hers. Emma brought a hand up to Regina's cheek, holding her close as the brunette deepened the kiss.

Finally Regina pulled away, smirking to cover up the fact that her breathing was irregular. "See you day after tomorrow Miss Swan. Dinner will be at five. Don't be late." She mustered all the will power she could gather and turned away from Emma to return to the living room. Once out of the blonde's eyesight, she leaned back against the wall, waiting until she heard the telltale opening and closing of the door. Only then did her hand fly to her chest as she took deep swallows of air. Emma Swan would be the death of her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma didn't stop moving until she was in the safety of the flat she shared with Mary Margaret. She collapsed back against the closed front door, her eyes wide as she tried to process the last two weeks of her life, the last six weeks if she was really being honest with herself. Ever since she had first seen Regina Mills at that support group, that's when her life had changed.

"You look like you just saw a ghost." Mary Margaret eyeballed her curiously from where she was sipping tea on the couch.

Emma's glazed over eyes focused on her roommate when the petite woman spoke. "Alcohol?"

Mary Margaret's brow furrowed in thought. "I think Ruby left a half empty bottle of tequila from our last girl's night. It should be in the third cupboard behind the vegetable oil."

Emma shot across the space and into the small kitchen, frantically following the brunette's instruction until her hand was wrapping around the neck of a bottle of Cuervo. She looked at it like the golden liquid were the most valuable thing in the world before unscrewing the cap and taking a huge swig with a throw back of her head. It burned down her throat like liquid fire, blazing a trail straight down to her stomach and filling her with a hazy but pleasant warmth.

Mary Margaret watched the whole scene with a mild interest. When the blonde took her second drink and then finally met the schoolteacher's eyes, she offered a reassuring smile. "Yea, Mayor Mills tends to have that effect on people."

Emma gave a resigned sigh and tipped the bottle back, taking a third swig.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Who had put an entire marching band in her head while she was asleep? Her head throbbed worse than it did when she stood directly in front of the amps and speakers at that Metallica concert she went to when she was fifteen. She groaned, her eyes refusing to stay open every time she attempted to fully wake up. After what seemed a hundred attempts, she finally managed to open her eyes completely.

She was draped diagonally across her small bed, one leg hanging off the right side, one arm hanging off the left side, her fingers brushing the wood of the floor, and the rest of her body taking up every free bit of mattress. She tried to lift her head but it just resulted in another groan. She at least managed to pull her entire body onto the mattress and move into a more decent position. Her phone was sitting on the windowsill behind the iron framework of her headboard, forgotten. She reached for it, but when she pressed the buttons to call it from slumber, she was confronted with nothing more than a blank screen. Great, she had forgotten to put it on the charger. She snuck her hand out from the blankets and felt around blindly on her beside table until her fingers brushed across the thin cord, sliding along its length until she felt the connector. She plugged the phone in and it gave a cheerful little beep in thanks.

She took a deep breath before attempting to lift her head. This time she succeeded in getting enough height off the pillow to get a clear view of the floor and the empty tequila bottle next to an empty box of Fruit Loops and a half eaten piece of toast. What had happened last night? She couldn't remember anything after she'd taken swig number four, or had it been five? The events of the previous night seemed to blur together.

Mary Margaret would know. She'd been completely adamant about not touching a drop of the tequila no matter how many times Emma had waved the bottle suggestively in her direction. She'd recall what had happened with perfect clarity. But she was downstairs and Emma had a feeling stairs were an activity best saved for when the room wasn't spinning quite so fast.

She let her head fall back to the pillow and closed her eyes. Slowly, after several long moments of deep breaths, she opened her eyes and managed to focus on a speck of dust hanging from the corner of the ceiling. She was halfway through imagining Regina cringing at the very sight of the offending mote when she realised the room had become stationary again.

After stopping quickly in the bathroom to brush her teeth and survey the damage, she made her way downstairs.

Mary Margaret was bustling around the kitchen with the grace of a butterfly. She was in another dress and cardigan that Emma was beginning to believe were her signature look. When she saw Emma, she motioned to the small table set up for dining. "Sit."

Emma didn't have the will power to object even if she wanted to, so she obeyed instead, falling into the closest seat with a loud thump. She saw two aspirin and a glass of water pushed under her nose and she grunted gratefully before swallowing the pills and chasing them with the entire glass of cold liquid. It felt good racing down her throat, soothing to her dry mouth.

Mary Margaret took the cup and refilled it before passing it back. She had known Emma would be hung over after last night, but she wasn't going to share any details until she gauged how much Emma remembered on her own.

After glass number three, when Emma felt alive enough to actually form coherent sentences and release them out into the world, she finally broached the topic. "So, about last night. I'm not sure what I did, but, knowing me, it was most likely lewd and inappropriate... tequila has a weird effect on me. So, if I, say, made a pass at you, I'd just like to apologise."

Mary Margaret covered her mouth with her hand to hide her chuckle. The last thing Emma had been the previous night was suggestive. In fact, the blonde had seemed to forget Mary Margaret was even there with her, which had been completely fine with the brunette. She'd had plenty of experiences with Ruby, who was always suggestive when she was drunk, to be grateful when Emma had turned her attention to a completely different activity. Namely, drunk dialing the mayor. The conversation had been brief, but it told Mary Margaret more than she had previously known about the womens' friendship with each other. The phone rang, shrilly piercing the shamed silence the blonde had let lapse between them. Mary Margaret glanced at the caller ID. _Speak of the devil..._

"Mayor Mills, how can I help you this morning?" She tried to keep it light and cheery, even as a look of panic crossed Emma's face that was so comical, she had to fight hard not to break her composure and laugh.

"Is Emma alright? I keep trying her phone but it's going straight to voicemail." The concern in Regina's voice was unmistakeable.

"Fine. Everything's fine." She tried not to give away to the blonde that Regina was asking about her. "We're just having breakfast."

"It's almost noon."

"Yes well, we had a late night last night so I thought some sleeping in was in order." She smiled over her shoulder at Emma, who was looking into her empty water glass as if she was wishing it would swallow her whole.

"Is she hung over?"

Mary Margaret watched as her roommate's head fell down with an audible thunk onto the kitchen table, too weary to hold itself up anymore in its current condition. "That would be a yes."

"She doesn't remember last night, does she?"

"I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing no."

Regina's sigh came through the phone. "Would you do me a favour? If she asks, don't mention what she said to me last night. I think it'll be a little too much for her right now."

Mary Margaret was too shocked that the mayor had asked her of all people for a favour that she could do nothing but respond in the affirmative. "Sure, I'll do that."

"Thank you Miss Blanchard, your discretion in such a sensitive matter is appreciated."

The corner of the schoolteacher's mouth turned up in a grin. She knew if she waited long enough the politician side of the other woman would surface. "Of course. Well, I should get back to breakfast now. You have a nice day Mayor Mills." She hung up and turned to the blonde.

"What did Regina want?" Emma tried to look curious, but the expression was broken every few seconds by a wince. The aspirin still hadn't taken effect yet.

Mary Margaret shrugged. "Just called to ask something about school."

Emma's curiosity didn't wane, Mary Margaret could see it in her eyes, but thankfully the blonde chose not to press the issue. Instead, she looked up sheepishly. "So, somebody said breakfast?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina hung up the phone, staring at it blankly for a moment after she did. At least she could find a little relief. After her brief but telling conversation with an obviously inebriated Emma Swan the previous night, she had believed the woman had gotten the hell outta dodge when her cell had kept going to voicemail. After midnight, she had given up and decided to try again come morning. But that morning had proved no different. Just when she was starting to truly panic and believe that Emma had skipped town, she had decided to call the schoolteacher. She didn't want to involve Miss Blanchard, but by that point, she was desperate.

"Momma?" She glanced over into the dining room where her son was trying to force down some soup she'd made him for lunch. He had woken up sick, asking for Emma. It had taken her a while to calm him down, only when she brought him downstairs and let him work on the puzzle had she received any modicum of success. He still looked withdrawn, but at least he was trying to keep something down.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"Is Emma coming today?"

Regina felt her heart break at the hope in his voice. He wanted to see the blonde just as much as she did. "No baby boy, I think Emma will be staying home today." If she was truly as drunk as she sounded on the phone the night before then the blonde was probably nursing one hell of a hangover; she wouldn't even have the energy to come if Regina could even come up with an excuse to lure her here. She was still treading a fine line with the younger woman.

"But _this_ is her home." He said it calmly, a genuine truth. It was as if he were saying the sky is blue or that the Earth is round. Just a statement of pure fact.

Regina crossed the foyer and entered the dining room. "I know." She paused behind her son's chair, smoothing down his hair with one hand as her other gripped the back of the chair.

"She belongs here. We need to make her believe."

Regina smiled. Sometimes her son's faith far exceeded her own, but it never ceased to amaze her. Everything was just that simple in his innocent eyes. "And how do you propose we do that? I am open to suggestions."

Henry scooped a small bit of soup up into his Batman spoon and brought it to his mouth, sucking down the broth before he answered. "Well first, every good plan needs a name."

Regina chuckled. "So what shall we call it? _Plan Keep Emma In Storybrooke_?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "She'll know what it's about if we call it that. She can't know."

Regina watched as he took another mouthful of soup, this banter making him forget how sick he was feeling. "You have a better idea?"

Henry nodded. "Operation Cobra."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: next chapter is new year's eve. normally i don't whore myself out for reviews but it is a proven fact that they do make me write faster. tis your decision dear readers.


	9. Confucius Say

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: so i said this chapter was going to be new year's eve and it totally was going in that direction, but like she so often does, my muse took her ideas and stole a few bases with them and this chapter went into a whole different ballpark. new year's eve will now be next chapter. this chapter is girl's night out and mary margaret as confucius. hope everyone likes it as much as all the others.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 9: Confucius Say... If You Love Her Let Her Know**

Emma leaned back ever so slightly on her stool, staring at the bottle neck poised on the tabletop before her. The green tinged glass of the beer bottle stared back at her, silently urging her to wrap her fair fingers around it and knock the local brew back. So far, she'd done a damn good job of resisting. After the massive hangover her one man tequila party had resulted in that morning, she was loathe to touch another drop. She loved forgetting, it was why she had picked up the tequila bottle in the first place, but she hated not being able to remember what had transpired for the hours she was drunk.

She still couldn't remember what she'd done the night before in her drunken stupor. All she knew was that whatever it had been, it had involved at least trying to contact Regina. The second her phone had developed enough of a charge to revive it from its death by battery failure, it had buzzed with eleven missed calls, three missed texts, and two voicemails, all from Regina. She had clicked into her call log, surveying all the red repetitions of the brunette's name glaring back at her, but at the bottom there had been a black one from the previous night, which meant the call had been received. Even now, almost twenty four hours later, she couldn't remember what they talked about. Her first inclination had been to just call Regina and ask, one adult to another, but the more she thought that particular plan over, the more she talked herself out of it. She could just imagine how that conversation would go over. _"Hello Madam Mayor, sorry to, uh, bother you, but my phone indicates that I may have drunk dialed you last night and I just really would like to know what atrocities I may have verbally assaulted you with."_ Oh yea, brilliant plan.

Mary Margaret had played completely innocent, though Emma wasn't wholly convinced. Even if the schoolteacher hadn't been in the room, as she so adamantly claimed, Emma had been around herself drunk before and she knew that the volume of her voice increased tenfold more often than not. Whatever she had said into that phone, she was almost positive that her roommate would have heard it. Plus, Mary Margaret Blanchard seemed like too good of a samaritan, with her aspirin and water the next morning, to just have left Emma to her own devices while she was two sheets to the wind. She was more likely the type to stay up and supervise, make sure Emma didn't kill herself trying to get up the stairs and all that. But she maintained her innocence all day.

When Mary Margaret had invited her to celebrate the next night at the diner with her and Ruby, who unfortunately had to work the closing shift, and Emma had declined with the truth that she would be going to Regina's to celebrate New Year's Eve with her, the schoolteacher had immediately suggested a girls night that night. It would give Emma a chance to meet Ashley, who was apparently even younger than Emma's twenty three years and pregnant. Also, apparently Ruby had been bugging Mary Margaret for a girls night, ever since she found out the blonde would be rooming with her. Her roommate claimed that Ruby was fascinated by the idea of a stranger in town, especially one who was only a year older than she was. Emma had refused at first, saying she should get a good night's sleep if she was going to stay up past midnight the next night, but Mary Margaret had pouted and Emma had finally and begrudgingly agreed.

And now she was here, staring at the beer bottle as if it contained poison and not alcohol, though it could be argued that alcohol was a slow form of poison. But Emma wasn't opposed to a little pick me up here and there, just not when the battery on her phone had a full charge. Last night, it had died on her thanks to spending the night at the mayor's and not having the opportunity to charge it properly. If it hadn't, who knows what sort of trouble she could have gotten into? As it was, she hadn't heard from the mayor since her call to Mary Margaret that morning. If whatever they had discussed had been truly awful, she was certain the mayor would have called her to discuss her inappropriate conduct. But she hadn't. And Emma had convinced herself that all the missed calls must have been because her phone had died on them mid-conversation or something. That had to have been it. She must not have said anything too bad. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't if she were presented with a similar opportunity tonight.

She slid the untouched bottle next to Ruby's almost finished one.

The young brunette eyed her for a moment before giving a slight nod. She drank the rest of her bottle and moved to Emma's without even blinking. She was the only one among them truly drinking. Ashley was eight months pregnant, not to mention too young. Emma had just refused her beer. And Mary Margaret had taken a few sips of hers, but she had always been a one and done type. She'd get one drink and nurse it the entire night, no matter how late they stayed out.

Ruby slid to the edge of her stool, getting as close to Emma as she could and lowering her voice to normal level, which sounded like a whisper in the noisiness of the bar. "So, what's going on with you and Mayor Mills?"

Emma regarded the younger woman beside her. "Excuse me?"

Ruby smirked. "Mary Margaret told me you are ringing in the New Year with our beloved mayor. No one, and I do mean no one, spends holidays with the mayor unless it's a town function, especially an outsider."

Emma tried to brush off the statement that she was an outsider, that she didn't belong, but even as she did, the fear began to pool in the bottom of her abdomen. "You make this place sound like Stepford." She wasn't sure why she felt such a need to defend Regina, but she didn't like the look everyone got in their eyes when the older brunette was brought up.

Ruby chuckled and took another swallow from her beer bottle. "It might as well be. Nobody ever comes in, nobody ever leaves."

Mary Margaret leaned over the round table. "Don't let her bother you Emma; she's just bitter because she's stuck here looking after the diner."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the schoolteacher but didn't deny the claim. A few moments later, her face softened and she shrugged, the light enthusiastic air returning. "It's about time the mayor got laid."

Emma's eyes went wide and she began to choke on nothing but the dank bar air she was breathing in. "I... we... we're not... like that." She tried her best to compose herself as Ruby patted her back understandingly, mumbling something about how Regina may be uptight but was certainly worth 'hitting that'. But as she finally was able to breathe normally, she found that she wanted them to be. If she didn't care for the older woman so much, they would have slept together by now. But the fact remained that she did care for the mayor, and she wasn't about to ruin not only the woman, quite possibly the only woman more guarded than she was if the town's opinions were anything to go by, and also ruin a sick five year old in the process.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Phase one of Operation Cobra was set for the following night. Her son was actually quite brilliant in thinking it up. He seemed just as dedicated to keeping Miss Swan as she was. It just didn't make sense to his little five year old mind that if they all cared for each other, why they couldn't just shack up together. She, having lived the complicated life she had, knew better than anyone that it was a little more difficult than that. If they went at Emma too fast, it would just push the blonde away. Emma, so far, had exceeded her expectations, but it had all been with an undertone of caution. The blonde believed what was developing here to be temporary, because temporary was all she knew. Operation Cobra was all about her, and Henry, proving to Emma Swan that they were something different, something more. They were the ones who would keep her.

She sat once more before the fire, stroking the rim of the crystal tumbler in her hand. She hadn't been much of a drinker since Henry was born, a glass of wine here or there, but nothing like she was before him, when she'd had two glasses of wine with every dinner and a nightcap at least four times a week. But this whole ordeal with Miss Swan had caused her to dig her old cider decanter out of the back of the pantry.

She took a small sip of the liquid in the bottom of the glass, savouring the burn as it slid down her throat. She had refrained from calling the blonde all day, despite that she wanted to so badly. She wished Emma had just remembered the words she'd uttered the night before so they could discuss them, so she could find out if the blonde had truly meant what she'd said instead of all this unknowing. They say a drunk mind speaks a sober heart, but Regina Mills had never put her faith in cliches like that, and she was quite sure she shouldn't start to now.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Mary Margaret was looking at their table with wide imploring eyes and Emma was trying not to laugh so hard she fell off of her chair. Ruby had wanted to dance and she wouldn't be denied. Emma had dodged by excusing herself to go to the bathroom and Ashley had the failsafe excuse of being overly pregnant, so the honour had fallen to the schoolteacher to be designated dance partner. Ruby had just smirked wider with every frantic shake of Mary Margaret's head, dragging her out to the dance floor and trying to get her to join into a rhythm with the music.

Emma ignored the 'save me' eyes that the schoolteacher was shooting her way and looked down at the screen of her phone for the umpteenth time that night.

"I know that look."

Emma's head snapped up as she heard the smirk in the voice next to her. She regarded the other blonde in their party, the youngest of their group. "What?"

Ashley smiled knowingly. "I was like that in the beginning too, staring at my phone, waiting for a call, a text message, anything to let me know he was thinking about me." She gave Emma a smile, but the look in her eyes was distant and far off, back in a time where her fairytale hadn't ended with her alone and pregnant.

"I'm not... I mean, there's no one." Emma took another sip of her coke. In all reality, she had been watching for a text or call from Regina, but not for the reasons the other blonde might think. Her bond with Henry was growing. She had seen in those months with Lillian how her body had deteriorated before their very eyes. She'd seen the woman push through her exhaustion to spend time with her, but she'd also seen how the tiredness never really made its way from behind her eyes. She'd seen the way she'd take deep breaths when she thought Emma wasn't looking. She'd been there, for the quick stretch from diagnosis until the end, and she'd seen it all. And she saw it now. Henry was strong, it had got him through these past two years, but his strength was waning. She was waiting for a call she hoped would never come again.

Emma excused herself and went to do the proper roommate thing to do, the proper friend thing to do really, and rescue Mary Margaret. She couldn't stay and be subjected to Ashley's knowing gaze. It was just too probing, too assuming.

She came up beside the two women. "Listen, I need to get back to the flat."

Ruby wrapped her long arms around Emma's shoulders, going in for a hug but one drunken stumble and she was half collapsed in the blonde's arms with no sign of moving.

Mary Margaret took the opportunity of Ruby's distraction to make a beeline for the table. "It's after midnight. I think it's about time we all went home."

Ruby tried to protest, but her mind couldn't seem to form the correct sequence of words so she just leaned more heavily against the blonde, who half led half dragged her back to the table, where Mary Margaret and Ashley were gathering their things and closing the tab.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Mary Margaret flipped the deadbolt behind them, walking over to the couch and collapsing with an exhausted sigh. "Normally Ruby doesn't drink so much."

The corner of Emma's mouth turned up in a smile as she stepped over her roommate's stretched out legs on her way to the kitchen. "She's cute when she drinks, in that flirty twentysomething way." She put on a kettle for some tea before checking her phone again.

Mary Margaret caught the look on the blonde's face. She'd been catching them all night. Whatever was going on between her and the mayor, it was serious, whether either of them realised it or not. She'd known the mayor for countless years, but she'd never seen Regina look at someone the way she looked at Emma Swan. By contrast, she hadn't known Emma but a few days, but there was just something about the way she carried herself, as if a personal battle was raging inside of her.

"I've only ever been in love once."

Emma looked up slowly, cautious but curious buy the new direction of their conversation and the change in her roommate's tone. "What happened between you and him?"

"Oh, he's still around. You know Regina's best friend Katherine?" At Emma's nod of acknowledgment, she continued. "It's her husband. His name's David."

"You had an affair?" Emma was shocked to say the least. The way Regina talked about Mary Margaret Blanchard, she had assumed the woman was a saint, unblemished by the sins of humanity. Even Emma herself, as impure as they come, had never had dealings with a married man.

"I volunteer at the hospital from time to time, read to the patients and such. That's how I first came to know Henry. He's too young to be my student, but he was on my rounds when I would volunteer. I used to read books to him back when he had his first round of treatments and was in the pediatric ward a lot." She bit her bottom lip. "David... back then he was just John Doe, rescued by the mayor in the snow on the side of the street. He was in a coma and I'd keep him company for an hour every Thursday. I'd tell him about my week, about my students, about anything. The nurses said that there's some research out there that proves coma patients respond to auditory stimulation, that they might be able to hear and process what's being said to them. I saw him for that hour every week for over a year. I began to dream up who he'd been before whatever accident had put him there. I imagined what his voice was like, what kind of a personality he had, his interests. I built him into the perfect man in my head, all while he was sleeping."

Emma took the now steaming kettle off the burner. She pouring them two cups of tea and brought one to the brunette who thanked her as she handed it over. She sat on the other end of the couch, completely entranced by the story.

"Eventually he woke up. It was a big deal. He had amnesia, unable to remember who he was or where he'd been. But he remembered _me_. We spent all that day and well into the night talking, making plans." She felt tears sting her eyes. "And he was everything I'd made him in my head. I'd gotten it all right. I knew then that we were meant to be, that soul mates did exist. And then Katherine walked in."

"Where had she been all that time?"

"She thought he'd left town. He'd stormed out after a fight, just walked off into the night. No one knew him, so when his body was found, he was just registered as a John Doe. It wasn't until the day after he woke up, when Sydney ran a front page expose in the _Mirror_ that she saw him and recognised who he was. You should have seen the relief on her face. It was as if she'd thought the most valuable treasure in her life had been lost, and now, she'd been given a second chance." She smiled sadly. "I knew then that I could never break that up, never take that away from her."

Emma tilted her head to regard her roommate. "Do you still love him?"

Mary Margaret offered her a pained smile. "I never stopped."

It was obvious to the blonde from the other woman's tone, that the schoolteacher regretted that she hadn't tried harder, that she'd taken the easy road, the road of the better man. Emma took a long sip of her tea. She set down the cup and glanced at her phone, her mind returning to the kiss she and Regina had shared just moments before she'd left the mayor's house, to every kiss they had shared, every moment they'd been together.

"Do you love her?" Mary Margaret looked down at the phone, still clutched firmly in Emma's hand.

"No." It felt like a lie, even as it left her mouth, but to answer in the positive was to betray everything she had built, everything she was.

"Funny." The brunette shrugged as she sipped her tea, her eyes focusing on the liquid in her cup. "Cause it looks a lot like love."

Emma sighed. "What am I supposed to do?" She was speaking to herself really, but the rhetorical question made Mary Margaret's head turn.

"I'm not an expert obviously." She set down her cup and glanced at her hands, playing with a loose thread on the cotton fabric of her dress. "But I believe that when you find love, even if you're afraid, it's better to just go for it." She smoothed down the fabric. "Most people turn from it for fear of being left alone when they lose it, but without it, aren't you alone anyway? Isn't it better to have a few moments of something beautiful than a whole lifetime of nothing?"

Since when did the quiet and innocent young schoolteacher turn into Confucius? And she couldn't even blame it on drunken wisdom. Emma glanced down at her phone once more. Was Mary Margaret right? Was it time to take a chance?

Her phone rang, breaking her inner thoughts. It was almost two in the morning. The name flashing on the screen along with a picture she'd snapped at their impromptu Christmas celebration made her heart sink. She immediately accepted the call. "Regina? Is Henry okay?" She tried to keep the panic from her voice though she was already expecting the worst.

Mary Margaret put a hand on her knee, a tactile connection to ground the blonde.

She listened to what the mayor had to say, the panic leaving her with every word the woman spoke. "Yes, of course. It won't be a problem. I understand. I'd be more than happy to watch him." She smiled in relief. "Okay, I'll be there. See you then. You too." She ended the call and released a long breath.

"What was that all about?"

"There's some town emergency that she has to deal with in the morning and she wanted to know if I'd watch Henry. She didn't mean to call so late, but she has to be there at seven and she didn't know if I'd be up that early."

Mary Margaret yawned. "You had better get some sleep. Seven is only five hours from now and you have another late night tomorrow."

Emma rolled her eyes, but couldn't disguise her own yawn. "Yes mom." She got up and made for the stairs.

"Emma, think about what we talked about. Sleep on it." The schoolteacher stood and made for her own bedroom. "I've never seen Regina like this, in all the years I've known her. I don't know what's going on in her head, but I do know that whatever it is you're feeling, it's not one sided." Without another word the older woman disappeared into her bedroom.

Emma continued up the stairs and into her little bedroom. She sat on the side of the bed and began the long process of unlacing her boots. As she pulled the first one off, moving to kick it in the general direction of her closet, she was met with a direct view to the white shirt boxes, still sitting on top of her dresser. She had brought them up from the car this afternoon when her hangover had been on its descent into normalcy. Kicking her other boot off, she went over to the boxes. She opened the larger and came face to face with the stack of photo albums. She ran her hand across the leather cover, her fingers pausing to trace the embossed swan with its E. The warmth that was beginning to come commonplace whenever she thought of the mayor crept into her system once more. Love. Was that what this was? She really had nothing to draw comparison from. Her roommate's words from not twenty minutes prior came back to her, _cause it looks a lot like love_.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Her alarm went off at precisely six. Emma hopped out of bed. She'd barely slept a wink but her energy, derived completely from the anticipation of the upcoming day, was keeping her completely spry. She'd put her phone across the room so she'd be forced to get up to turn its alarm off. She grabbed the small phone and slid to end the alarm.

Mary Margaret was already up when she made it downstairs forty minutes later. Emma frowned, making a disgusted face at the brunette schoolteacher. "Ugh. You actually choose to get up this early on your day off?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Need I remind you that you said you get up before eight in the morning everyday?"

Emma took a sip from the cup of caffeinated Earl Grey that Mary Margaret handed her. "Yea, but I knew** I** wasn't normal." She finished the rest of her tea and washed out the cup in the sink. "I have to go. Don't want to be late." She knew she was avoiding conversation about what they had discussed last night. She'd already made a decision to be more open with the mayor, to try and let someone in for once, but Mary Margaret didn't need to know that yet. No one did, not even Regina. Not yet. But if her plan worked out, maybe tonight would be a turning point. She grabbed her wallet and car keys from where she'd dropped them on the coffee table the night before and headed for the door. "See you later."

"Happy New Year Emma." Mary Margaret raised a hand in farewell. "Good luck."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Sometimes Regina hated her job. It was good to have the power to change things, to mould them into your own vision. It stroked her ego and made her feel important. And she liked being able to make a difference, to pay back, in a small way, the sins of her past prior to the birth of her son. Henry had changed everything, saved her from herself. She had done so much damage in her younger years, to others and to herself. Henry had been her second chance.

Then, he'd gotten sick. There was still a part of her that believed it was some divine retribution for all she'd done. Give her happiness only to have it tainted by its impending loss. She knew Henry would never have a normal life, possibly, he would never have a long one. There were so many nights she'd pleaded with a god she didn't believe in to spare him, to take the sickness into herself and let him live. Other nights she'd cursed his biological parents, whoever they may be. Their genes had made him this way. But never, on any of those nights, had she ever not been grateful for the blessing that was the sick little boy just down the hall.

And now she was waiting, staring out the living room window for the familiar yellow monstrosity to pull up in front of her house, for those familiar boots to come stomping up the walk, for that familiar blonde head to be tilted down against the morning chill. She was waiting for her second blessing to arrive. And then she would have to leave her a moment later, which was precisely why, sometimes, she hated her job.

She glanced over her shoulder at her son, sitting on the couch, studying the still unfinished puzzle with his eyes. She had encouraged him to work on it all yesterday, but he'd only agreed for an hour or so, saying he'd promised Emma he wouldn't finish it without her. She figured that was what Emma and Henry would spend the morning doing, in her absence, and then when she came home at six, it would be finished.

Now that more of the puzzle was complete, it was easy to tell what the finished picture was to be, a yellow taxi with the hulking gray stone mass of the Brooklyn Bridge looming up behind it. She couldn't remember when she'd actually purchased the thing; she'd never really had much patience for puzzles, but it seemed fitting. Her plans had been to go to New York for the holiday, but with Henry sick that had become a pipe dream, and the picture on that puzzle was about the closest they would get to the real thing tonight.

The kickback of an engine turned her attention back out the window where the yellow bug had pulled to a stop in front of the hedges. Regina couldn't keep the smile from her face as she saw the driver's door open with a reluctant groan and the blonde stumble out. She slipped on some snow and nearly fell to the ground, but caught onto the top of the driver's door to keep herself from falling. Her boots flailing uselessly for several moments, looking for traction on the icy pavement before they finally found it and she was able to haul herself upright once more. Regina had to stifle a giggle at the spectacle of the younger blonde. Emma glanced around, looking to make sure no one had seen her near disaster before she smoothed down her sweater dress and straightened her leggings, knocking off a bit of snow that clung to the material just above her boot. The whole thing was quite endearing to the brunette.

Emma was wearing black leggings and a long sleeved black sweater dress that clung to every lean angle of her body like a lover. Regina was pleased to note that the woman also wore the dark green scarf and gloves that she had gotten her for Christmas, though she'd forgone the hat today. A long brown coat, that also appeared to be borrowed from her roommate's closet kept her protected from the worst of the chill.

She turned away from the window. "Emma's here."

Henry's little head shot up in excitement. He slipped from the couch until his footied feet touched the hardwood and then he was off, racing for the door as fast as his stick legs would carry him.

Regina followed behind at a more relaxed pace, unable to stop a grin at his enthusiasm. She entered the foyer just as he threw open the front door.

"Emma!" He stepped out onto the stoop and looked about ready to jump out onto the icy walkway, which Emma was still only halfway up.

Regina's eyes opened wide in panic but she was too far away to stop him.

But strong arms caught him mid leap as he was launching himself from the stoop. Emma lifted him with a grunt into her arms, absorbing the blow of his body smacking into hers so it didn't agitate any of his incision sites. They were all healed now, except for the one in his belly button. She shifted him to her hip, looking at his pajama selection for the day, plain gray with the Batman symbol across the chest. She nodded appreciatively. "Nice suit kid, I approve."

Regina had made it to the door and she shut it behind the duo as they made it back into the safety of the foyer.

Emma set Henry down and then turned to greet the brunette. Regina was dressed expertly in tailored black slacks and a grey blazer. A white button up silk dress shirt that probably cost more than Emma made in a week completed the outfit. Emma had to fight the urge not to purr. She could get used to the powersuits. "Nice suit Madam Mayor, I approve."

Regina playfully rolled her eyes, but deep down she was pleased by the blonde's reaction. "Now that we've both received the Emma Swan seal of approval, I really must go." Despite her words, she made no move towards her purse and keys.

Emma's face fell just the tiniest bit. She grabbed the woman's coat from where it was waiting, draped along the edge of the foyer table next to the brunette's purse. She held it open so that Regina could slip into it. As the brunette did so, Emma leaned in close to her ear under the guise of helping her adjust the coat on her shoulders. "I really wish you didn't have to go."

Regina shivered, pulling away just enough to turn her gaze to the blonde, but Emma was already turned away, grabbing her purse and keys. She walked over to Henry, crouching down to pull him into a quick hug. "I'll be back no later than six." She kissed the top of his head as she stood.

"Don't forget about Operation Cobra!"

Emma's brow furrowed. What in the hell was Operation Cobra?

Regina smiled down at her son before knowingly tapping the side of her nose in secret confirmation that she did indeed remember their plan.

Emma's curiosity only grew, but she left it alone, her mind too focused on her own plans for the night.

Regina walked over to where Emma still held out her purse and car keys. "Thank you Miss Swan. I know this was short notice and I do appreciate it."

Emma shrugged, waving it off. "No need to thank me. I get to spend my day with Batman, who wouldn't want to do that?" She smiled at Henry.

Regina ran a hand gently down the blonde's arm. "I'll be home by six, then we'll celebrate."

Emma nodded with a smile. "I'll be here."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

They watched the Mercedes back out of the driveway from the stoop, Henry resting comfortably on Emma's hip. They waved to the brunette as she looked back at them before pulling out onto the street and driving off. Emma watched until the black car disappeared before taking them inside. She closed the door and carried Henry back into the living room, setting him down on the hardwood.

"Does your mom work on the holidays a lot?"

Henry shrugged as he crawled up on the couch, looking down at their puzzle. "Sometimes. If it's not a bad day."

Emma felt a pang in her heart. She wished she could take Henry's sickness from him, somehow, even if only for a day. She watched the little boy as he set about doing the puzzle. "How would you like to help me do something special for your mom?"

Henry perked up, his attention slipping to the blonde. "Like a surprise?"

Emma nodded. "It'll be our secret surprise."

Henry was practically bouncing in his seat. His enthusiasm made Emma smile. He nodded enthusiastically.

Emma gestured towards the puzzle with her head. "Why don't you keep going on that while I make some calls? We're going to need some help if we're going to pull this off before six."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: so it's officially a proven fact that reviews make me write faster. i mean, i popped out this chapter in one and a half days. just sayin'. can't argue with that logic.


	10. This One's For You

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression.

A/N:: so as promised, you review and i deliver (also i think some of you may have hunted me down if i delayed another second :P). this chapter contains new years eve as well as finding out what emma said when she drunk dialed the mayor. also returning to mostly swan queen fluffiness. i promise there is more of a plot involved. emma will find out she's henry's mother in a big way. stuff will go down. existence of the curse is still undecided, my muse has locked that away in her head and thrown away the key. all that being said, this might be the beginning of slower updates. i unfortunately don't get paid for doing this, though i really wish i could write for a living, and i have to focus on studying tax law. it's boring and time consuming, but necessary for me to do one of my jobs effectively. so no more dreamscape, no more of this story, and no more of any others until i get through studying. priorities suck serious ass. that is all.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 10: This One's For You**

Emma opened the door for the two women as they came bustling in with bags and supplies. Both of her fair skinned co-conspirator's faces were red with wind burn from the chill outside. She grabbed the supplies from them and took them into the dining room while the women took off their coats and put them in the closet.

Henry rubbed his hands together as she began to empty out the bags onto the dining room table. He was almost more excited about her plan than she was. Emma rolled out the blank thick white paper from the roll Mary Margaret had borrowed from her classroom. There were a couple things that they had been unable to get due to the short notice and their strict time limit, but they'd have to make due with what they got.

She glanced between the three other people in the room. "Alright, Katherine, I need you to go online, find any pictures of shows that you can. Print them out and we'll adhere them to cardboard. Mary Margaret, you're in charge of all the painting and drawing. Kid?" She leveled Henry with a serious gaze. "You ready to get dirty?"

Ever the boy, Henry nodded frantically, an excitement in his eyes she hadn't witnessed before.

They had less than nine hours, but Emma was confident they would finish in time. She set them off to do their separate tasks, taking Henry's hand and leading him to where the balloon was waiting.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The doorbell distracted her from where she was currently gluing little slivers of white and yellow tissue paper onto black paint. For a moment, her entire body seized in panic. It was just before noon, what if Regina had decided to come home for lunch? But after a moment she dismissed the thought. If it were Regina, she wouldn't have knocked.

"Must be lunch." Mary Margaret wiped her paint dotted hands on a paper towel and went to get the door.

"Lunch?" Emma didn't remember ordering take out. She wasn't even aware this town had take out.

Mary Margaret opened the door to reveal a smiling Ruby, holding a few bags. The brunette schoolteacher gave a sigh or relief. "Ruby, you are a lifesaver." She took the bags from the young waitress.

Ruby looked into the mess that was the mayor's dining room and knew instantly that the mayor had nothing to do with what was going on. "What is all this?"

Emma stood, looking at the woman. "A surprise, for Regina."

Ruby looked at their progress. They weren't even halfway done. She gave a smile as she stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. "Need an extra pair of hands?"

Emma couldn't stop the look of relief that washed over her. She gave the younger brunette a tired smile. Her energy from that morning was starting to wane. "Do you have several?"

Ruby's grin got bigger. "As a matter of fact I do."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Mayor Mills, I have a Mary Margaret Blanchard to see you. She doesn't have an appointment. Should I send her away?" The voice of her secretary filtered through the intercom on her desk, interrupting work that she was hardly focusing on anyway.

She jumped at the chance for a distraction, practically slamming the button to open the channel between her office intercom and the receiver in the reception area in her haste to reply. "No, please send her in, thank you." She released the button, straightening the cuffs of her dress shirt. The mayor was supposed to project a certain polished image, not the slightly askew look of a woman trying desperately to get home to her family.

There was a quiet almost hesitant knock on the door before the pixie haired brunette with the innocent eyes popped her head in through the crack in the door. She was using the still partially closed door to block most of her body, in case of unsolicited attack. A move for prey, Regina grinned wickedly at the thought.

"Miss Blanchard, come in." She stood in one fluid movement, finally back in her zone, and gestured with an elegant hand to the set of chairs across her desk. "Have a seat."

Mary Margaret duly noted that the please was conveniently left out of the suggestion, pushing it more firmly into the realm of demand over that of request, but she slipped into the office anyway, closing the door softly behind her. She didn't, however, sit down. She knew she wouldn't be here long.

"What business can my office help you with?"

Realising that Regina assumed she was here on official business, she shook her head. "Oh, no, I... Emma thought..."

"Emma?" Regina's attention skyrocketed to the category of undivided at the blonde's name.

"She thought you might like lunch."

It wasn't until the younger brunette held up the bag in her hand that she even noticed it was there. Just a plain paper sack, like a school kid might be seen carrying around. Regina had to fight hard to keep the smile off her face. Emma had made her lunch. Emma had been thinking of her. She schooled her features into something more mayor-esque and held out her hand for the paper bag.

Mary Margaret handed it to her. It was obvious by the way Regina peered into the bag like she wasn't even there that it was an unspoken dismissal. Mary Margaret was about to turn away and leave the mayor to her meal, but maybe she had a death wish because she found herself stepping up to the other side of the desk, leaning over towards the mayor ever so slightly. "Do you love her?"

Regina looked up, pursing her dark red lips. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. She should have known it was pointless to hope for common ground, that they could put aside their petty differences for the woman they both seemed to care about. "Right. Well, enjoy your lunch." Even though her tone had an undisguised air of _I hope you choke on it_, she turned away with nothing but a disappointed frown.

"Yes, Miss Blanchard, I do."

Mary Margaret was halfway to the door and she froze, turning back around to find Regina with an expression so vulnerable that it was hard to believe she was facing the same woman she had only moments before.

"It's just... whenever I'm with her, my heart just feels so full, like it's always just on the brink of spontaneously combusting. And just when I think it's reached maximum capacity and there's no room left, she smiles, and I... I find more room." She smiled, a brilliant thing that Mary Margaret had never seen from her before and was quite positive she wasn't supposed to witness, but the younger brunette felt grateful that she had because it transformed the wicked witch into something human, something beautiful. "I love her."

Mary Margaret smiled softly. "Emma... be patient with her. I think you are the first thing in a long time that she doesn't want to be temporary and that's scary for someone like her. But she's trying." She thought to all the people working to make Emma's vision a reality back at the mayoral mansion. "She's trying more than you know."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina rubbed her temples as she stared at the paperwork sitting on the desk before her, yet again trying to focus. She'd been having this problem all day, trying to focus on the task at hand, but her mind kept on filling with images of Emma Swan and those kissable lips, of Henry and his easy smiles, of Operation Cobra and what it could mean for their future. Mary Margaret and her cryptic words had done little to help the situation.

She looked once more to her phone. She should just call Emma. It was what she really wanted to do and maybe if she did, she'd be able to finish this paperwork and get home to them sooner. Her fingers ran across the back of the phone as she tried to make up her mind. What if talking to Emma Swan just distracted her more? She withdrew her fingers and tried once more to focus on the paperwork. She made it through two paragraphs before her eyes slipped to the phone.

She didn't give herself time to think, just scooped it up and quickly dialed the number for her home.

It rang three times before a breathless voice answered. "Mills residence."

Regina pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a moment, unsure she'd heard the voice correctly. "Katherine?"

"Oh, Regina, hi." The woman sounded surprised and slightly fearful to hear the mayor's voice.

There were sounds in the background that Regina couldn't quite decipher, but before she could ask her best friend about them, another voice came through the line.

"Regina? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Regina seemed to forget every question in her mind the second she heard Emma Swan's voice. "Emma." It was a soft sigh of contentment. She felt something settle inside her. She smiled and then seemed to remember her head. "Yes, of course, everything is fine. What is Katherine doing there?"

"Oh, yea that. Henry and I are working on a little craft project. I didn't want to take him out when the weather's so foul, so Katherine offered to bring over some supplies."

Regina smiled though she knew Emma couldn't see it. "Will I get to see the fruits of your labours when I get home tonight?"

"I look forward to it." Emma's tone was soft, genuine. "So, how's the emergency situation going?"

Regina leaned back in her chair. "Increasingly boring. I'd rather be home with you and our little man."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma could barely breathe after Regina had ended the call. Regina said 'our little man'. She had shared custody of Henry with her words. Emma didn't have to know much about the brunette to know that was something she would never do lightly. She sat there with the phone to her ear long after the dial tone sounded.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret grabbed the receiver from her roommate's hand and placed it back in the cradle. She put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Emma slowly met Mary Margaret's eyes. "I think I may love her."

There was a ghost of some deeper pain in her eyes that touched Mary Margaret deeply, a crippling fear that was lurking just beneath the surface. It didn't have a voice or an explanation of why it was there, but Mary Margaret could see that it was something that followed the blonde, that lived inside of her every second of every day. She looked over to the dining room where Ruby, Ashley, Katherine, Henry, Graham, and even David were hard at work finishing up their little art project. She gestured towards the group with her head, a teasing smile crossing her face. "You think?"

Emma couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face. She followed Mary Margaret's gaze to the room full of people, people who had come running the moment she asked them to. People she didn't even know that well yet and they were helping her as if she were one of their own. Tears stung behind her eyes but she didn't let them fall. Maybe this was home. Maybe she could belong here.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared up at her house from outside the garage. Katherine's car was gone. The only one that remained was Emma Swan's yellow bug sitting at the curb where it had been when she'd left this morning. The lights seemed to be off all over the house, even in the living room. All was silent. It didn't worry the brunette but it did make her suspicious.

She walked up the sidewalk slowly and tried the front door. It was locked. She dug in her purse and pulled out her keys, but before she could use them to unlock the door, it flew open.

Henry stood before her. He was still in his pajamas, but around his neck was one of his ties from his fancy clothes, reserved for special functions. She wanted to laugh as she felt her heart melt. In his own way, he'd dressed up, for her. She smiled down at him. "Hey sweetheart."

"You're home." He grinned. "Emma made dinner."

"She did, did she?" Regina let the little boy pull her inside and shut the door.

"Yes, she did." Emma made her presence known, coming to meet the woman at the door. She helped Regina remove her coat and hang it up.

Regina watched the woman with increasing interest. Emma was giving her a secret smirk, obviously the blonde knew something she didn't. But she didn't intend to be in the dark for long. All the lights, with the exception of the one in the dining room, were off. She looked around, raising an eyebrow in question.

Emma smiled. "Dinner first. Then we have a surprise for you." She held out her hand to the brunette.

Regina slipped her hand into Emma's, smiling as the blonde entwined their fingers and brought her hand to her lips, kissing it softly. The brunette only had eyes for Emma as the blonde led her into the dining room and to the head of the table where she normally sat. She let herself be eased down into the chair.

Dinner turned out to be hot dogs with the works. It surprised Regina. She had gotten used to Emma really putting effort into what she cooked. Hot dogs seemed highly pedestrian. But they tasted good nonetheless, so she dug in. Henry stuck to his juice, not quite feeling up to eating, though at Regina's look of worry, the blonde wasted no time telling her that he had kept down half a sandwich for lunch. Emma herself had a pretzel. It seemed an odd choice to Regina but she chose not to question it. She chose to just enjoy the company her son and the younger woman provided.

They were oddly mums the word about what they'd done all day, instead focusing on how her day had gone. She didn't have much to share beyond complaining about how much she hated paperwork.

Henry seemed increasingly excited as he bounced in his seat almost spilling his juice several times.

The second her plate was clear, Henry slipped from his seat, grabbing the plate and carrying it into the kitchen.

Regina watched him go, her eyes following him until he disappeared behind the door into the kitchen. Her gaze swung to Emma in question. "What's got him all riled up?"

Emma stood, holding out her hand. "Your surprise."

Brown met green as Regina once again took the blonde's proffered hand.

Emma squeezed her hand in reassurance and led her towards the dark foyer and then turned, leading her into the pitch black living room. The curtains of the window had been drawn to block out even the moonlight and Regina could see nothing.

"What's going on Emma?"

The room was thrown into blinding clarity as the lights were flipped on.

Regina's free hand flew to her mouth in shock. Her eyes scanned the walls, taking everything in slowly. She barely recognised her living room. Tears stung her eyes as the meaning of the decorations sunk in. All around her, from paper and cardboard, paint and coloured pencils, Emma Swan had transformed her living room into Times Square. Cardboard cutouts in the shape of buildings, painted black with yellow and white strips of tissue paper to symbolise lighted windows. The New York skyline drawn on a continuous stream of large drawing paper that wrapped around the room. Adverts for Saks and the latest Broadway shows set up as if they were real billboards. Little glittery red apple appliques were stuck here and there. And at the front of it all, the couch had been moved to face a small platform with a bar jutting up out of it. Attached to the top of the bar was a ball. Decorated to the nines with tissue paper and glitter, the ball was just off from being a perfect globe.

"We brought New York to you Momma!" Henry grabbed her hand, tugging on it to get her attention.

Regina crouched down, caressing his cheek as she looked into his hazel eyes with her teary brown ones. "I see that sweetheart. It's..." She looked around, too overwhelmed to correctly express how perfect this was.

"It was Emma's idea, but she let all of us help."

"All of us?"

Henry nodded. "Mr. and Mrs. Nolan, Miss Blanchard, Sheriff Graham, Ashley, and even Ruby from the diner. We worked really hard. Emma let me help her make the ball before my nap and then when I woke up she let me put up the apples because New York City is called the Big Apple, though I don't know why because I didn't see any apple trees like yours when Emma was showing me pictures. Emma even gave me my bath and helped me put on my tie so I'd look nice for you." He paused, finally out of breath.

Regina kissed his forehead. "You look very handsome."

Emma stood silently off to the side. She had been content to observe the interaction without interrupting. A sliver of panic was dwelling in the pit of her stomach. Regina was on the verge of crying. That could be either a good or bad thing. She prayed that it was good but a small part of her believed that the second Henry was distracted with something else, Regina would let her have it.

She didn't see Regina move from Henry until the woman was on her, flinging her arms around her and pulling her into the tightest hug anyone had ever given her. She felt Regina's entire body meld into hers, holding her close as if the brunette's very life depended on it. Wetness pooled on her neck as Regina buried her face there, no longer able to contain her tears. She wasn't sure what one was supposed to do in these situations, but by pure instinct, one arm wrapped firmly around the older woman's waist and the other stroked through her brown hair.

Henry was standing where his mom had left him, meeting Emma's eyes and grinning like a fool.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Henry had shown more energy in the hours approaching midnight than he had in all the days since Emma had met him. He wasn't overly physical, his body still didn't allow for that, but he was glued to the screen as they watched the performances at Times Square on the television in the family room.

Regina had been loathe to leave their makeshift Times Square in the living room downstairs, but there was no television in the living room and Henry had pouted that it was tradition. She refrained from pointing out that he had never in his life made it all the way to the actual ball drop. Generally he fell asleep in Regina's lap before eleven and she woke him to watch the ball's minute long descent into the new year.

Watching it on the television had lost some of its lustre for Emma after having seen the real thing in person. But Regina's hand, which hadn't let go of hers since they finally broke their hug in the living room had kept her by the brunette's side on the couch and she found that watching it was much more entertaining with this woman and her son, perhaps even better than actually being there.

She glanced over at Regina, who was watching the performer on the screen, who was some flavour of the year pop star who was entirely underdressed for a New York City winter. There was snow on the ground in the background and this girl was shaking what her momma gave her, or actually...scratch that, what a doctor in Beverly Hills gave her, in what appeared to be sheets of kleenex tied together with bits of string. Emma leaned over and nuzzled Regina's neck, kissing the skin there softly. She blushed as she pulled away, turning back to the television as if she were actually paying attention to the song that this girl was singing.

Regina's eyes fluttered closed briefly as she felt Emma's nose and lips caressing her neck. She had to bite her bottom lip to stifle a moan as the kiss was placed against her flesh. Did the blonde understand how much her very presence tested Regina's careful control? She had wanted to pounce on the blonde the moment she'd seen the spectacle of her living room. The blonde didn't seem to get that she was so utterly perfect in all her damaged glory. She didn't seem to comprehend that Regina was madly in love with her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

At a quarter past eleven, Henry got up and stretched with an over exaggerated yawn. Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes; he could scratch actor off his list of possible careers.

"Emma, I'm tried, will you put me to bed?"

The blonde glanced at her in askance and she nodded. "Go right ahead."

Emma grinned and scooped the boy up.

Over the blonde's shoulder, Henry met Regina's gaze. He gave her a conspiratorial wink as the blonde carried him away. The first phase of Operation Cobra was about to commence.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Henry had taken longer to put down than usual. He didn't even seem tired really. He'd insisted on three bedtime stories before he'd finally let her escape. It was almost as if he were trying to delay her. None of it made any sense.

She walked back into the family room only to find it dark and abandoned. For a long moment, she just stared at the empty room as if Regina would magically reappear on the couch where she'd left her. Her brow furrowed in confusion. She withdrew from the room and looked down the hall. There were no lights on under any of the doors within her line of sight so she opted to go back downstairs. Maybe Regina had gotten hungry. A hot dog wasn't much of a dinner, but she had wanted to keep up with the New York theme.

She was only halfway down the stairs when she saw the light on in the living room. The overhead was off but someone had turned the lamp on, keeping the light low. She stepped cautiously into the room.

Regina's back was to her. She was studying the makeshift ball. Emma couldn't see her expression, but the intense scrutiny was making her self-conscious. "It isn't my best work, but we were kinda pressed for time."

Regina turned, two flutes of champagne in her hands. She offered Emma an easy, warm smile, and held one of the flutes out to her. "It's perfect darling. You're amazing."

Emma felt a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth and a blush starting to slide up her cheeks. She slowly walked across the room, taking the flute as she was in reach of it.

Regina, now that her hand was free, took the opportunity to stroke her fingers through her hair, tucking the dark strands behind an ear. She raised her own glass in toast. "To you Emma, for making this holiday special when I had lost all hope that it would be."

Emma smiled, lifting her own drink. "And to you Regina, and your son, for giving me something worthy of celebration."

The crystal of their glasses clinking together produced almost a musical quality. Regina sipped the sparkling liquid with a secret smile. If the way Emma was looking at her now was any indicator, Henry's plan was working. He offered to sacrifice staying up so that she and Emma would have a moment alone at midnight. She kept an eye on the clock over the blonde's shoulder. Her moment was drawing impossibly near. A knot of excited anticipation bubbled happily in her chest.

Emma downed the whole glass in two swallows. She'd never had someone to kiss at midnight before. She'd always been alone for holidays. The idea of being here now both excited and terrified her.

Regina set her own glass aside and then grabbed Emma's glass and put it with her own. She picked up a small remote from the table and pressed a button. A soft instrumental song came out of the stereo.

Emma Swan raised an eyebrow. "Why Madam Mayor... are you trying to _seduce_ me?" She smiled teasingly.

Regina looked at Emma with increasing vulnerability. "Yes."

All the breath left Emma's lungs in one fell swoop. She was thrown off by the admission. She was just teasing but the woman's voice left little doubt that she was telling the truth.

Regina pulled Emma to her, her hands moving to the blonde's hips even as she felt the younger woman's arms instinctively wrap around her neck.

Emma buried her face against Regina's shoulder, inhaling the intoxicating scent of the older woman. She smelled like apples, spice, and the barest hint of something floral. She looked up into Regina's dark brown eyes through her lashes, eyes that seemed to be only for her, before she broke off the gaze to glance around at her day's handiwork. "This was my way of apologising."

Regina's brow furrowed in confusion. Emma had done nothing wrong. "What's there to apologise for?"

"Night before last. After I left here... tequila and I, we don't mix very well... I know I called you. I can't remember what I said, but knowing me, it was probably highly inappropriate." Emma blushed a little, looking slightly shamed. "I'm embarrassed I called at all. I thought you might think that I was a bad influence on Henry, or..."

"Hey, Emma darling, no." She lifted the hand that was resting on Emma's right hip to the blonde's chin, lifting the woman's gaze with a manicured finger. "Henry has improved so much with you here. The only criticism I have is that you aren't around more. He loves spending time with you. **I** love spending time with you."

Emma smiled, embarrassed for a completely different reason under Regina's affectionate gaze. She bit her bottom lip. "So, what, um, did I say to you that night?"

Now it was Regina's turn to look slightly embarrassed. She stroked Emma's cheek softly with the hand that had been under the blonde's chin, her other hand gripping the woman's hip just a little bit tighter, keeping her possessively close. "Do you really want to know?"

Emma nodded, slightly unsettled by the uncertainty in the brunette's eyes. It occured to her that they'd been silently swaying to the melody. She'd barely felt her body moving.

"You thanked me again for the gifts and for allowing you to join us for the holiday. You said you'd had a wonderful time. And then... then you said 'I could fall in love with you'."

Emma felt her entire body freeze in shock.

Regina felt the panic crawling its way up her throat. She shouldn't have told her. She wasn't ready. It was too much too fast. She could feel the moment slipping away from her. She wanted desperately to get it back.

In her panic, her eyes had drifted from the clock. She didn't watch the second hand as it ticked its way to the top of the hour and the New Year. The night came alive as people set off their fireworks and their poppers outside on the streets of Storybrooke.

Emma didn't take time to process what she was doing. She leaned in and brought her lips to Regina's, brushing them softly together at first, then her desperation drove her forward and the kiss became more insistent.

Regina brought her other hand up, abandoning the blonde's hips entirely to place a hand on each side of her face and draw her in closer. The fireworks were still lighting up the world outside, but neither woman took notice of it, lost as they were in each other. The brunette slid the tip of her tongue across the blonde's bottom lip, requesting entrance. Emma granted it graciously.

The blonde's arms left their previous position to slide down the brunette's body, gripping the fabric of the woman's shirt at her waist, bunching up the silk in her fists as she used the leverage to drag the woman with her to the couch. She went down, pulling Regina with her, never allowing their mouths to separate.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina tried not to wake him as she pressed a kiss to his head, but still Henry's eyes opened sleepily.

"Momma? Did it work?"

She grinned, sitting on the edge of his bed as she smoothed down his hair. "Yea sweetheart, it worked."

His eyes were already slipping back closed. "I knew it would work. She belongs here."

Regina got up. "Happy New Year baby boy." He didn't respond, already asleep once more. She crept out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Emma had already turned down the bed when she stepped into the room. She saw the blonde's boots kicked off near her vanity, her dress draped over the chair, her leggings with it. "Emma?"

"Hmm?"

She heard the voice behind her and turned to find the blonde standing in the doorway of the en suite bathroom. Her mouth went dry seeing Emma in nothing but red lace, her arms covering the exposed expanse of her stomach to ward off the chill in the air.

The blonde looked sheepishly down at her attire, or lack thereof. "Sorry, I didn't know which pajamas I was allowed to borrow."

Regina chuckled and forced herself to turn away from the blonde. After their heated make out session downstairs, Emma had been the one to stop it from going any further. She didn't want to make the blonde uncomfortable, so she knew it was up to her to practise self-discipline until Emma was ready. "You're welcome to anything of mine Emma." She opened the drawer where she kept her pajamas and was faced with its emptiness. Shit! She had forgotten to do laundry. Oh, this was not good.

Emma peered over her shoulder with a smirk, taking in the bottom of the drawer. For a moment, there was silence, and then Emma burst out laughing. "Good thing I wore my good lingerie tonight huh?"

She was pressed ever so gently against Regina's back that the darker woman could feel the heat from her body through her clothes. She reached up and began to undo the buttons on her shirt, slipping it off.

Emma kissed the bare shoulder as it was revealed to her before turning and heading to the opposite side of the bed, crawling under the sheets and duvet.

Regina walked over and draped her shirt over Emma's discarded clothes on the chair. She kicked off her heels next to the deputy's boots and then began to undo the button on her trousers. They slid down her long legs and she bent to pick them up where they pooled at her feet before tossing them over the rest of the clothes. She turned off the light, throwing the room into a dimness punctuated only by the moonlight from the window. Instead of walking all the way around the bed, the brunette simply chose to climb over the blonde to get to her side, her lace covered breasts coming close to the blonde's face.

Emma narrowed her eyes playfully at the brunette as the woman slid into the sheets beside her. "You, Mayor Mills, are a tease."

Regina looked up from where her head rested on the pillow with a cocky smirk. "So? What are you going to do about it?"

Emma was over Regina in a second, stopping the older woman's breath in her lungs and making the smile drop from her face. Her eyes told Emma that she wanted this. The blonde traced her fingers across the fluttering pulse point, down her clavicle, over the mound of her right breast, coming finally to her lower abdomen, where they stopped at the hem of the lace that protected her sex. She stroked the flesh there, not going below that boundary line as she hungrily attacked the brunette's lips as she had downstairs.

Regina's body was screaming for contact, begging for the blonde's touch. Her mouth was a drug that Regina was already addicted to, a need which no amount of rehab could cure. She explored the depths of the blonde's mouth with her tongue as the woman continued that maddening caress just a little too high to satisfy her needs.

"Emma." She broke away from that addictive mouth, her voice already taking on a pleading edge. She bucked her hips upward, urging the blonde lower.

"Do you want me?"

Regina bit her bottom lip and nodded, dark brown never leaving green.

"You know Regina..." Emma's finger slipped under the edge of the lace, moving southward, causing the brunette to release a satisfied purr. "You're not the only one who can tease." With that, Emma pressed a firm kiss to the brunette's mouth before pulling away and turning on her side, her back to the brunette.

Regina's mouth dropped open in shock and then slammed closed in anger. There was no way this was happening! She was the mayor! You did not get the mayor all worked up and then not follow through! There were laws against this! Okay so they were more an unwritten code of conduct but still! This woman needed to be punished but how? Her head swam with possibilities and by the time she actually selected her revenge, she leaned over the blonde to find the younger woman already asleep.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

When Regina woke, it was to sunlight streaming in through the window and an empty bed. A folded sheet of paper rested on the pillow where Emma Swan's head had been last night when she'd fallen asleep.

She wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up as she reached for the note.

_Regina-_

_Sorry I'm not there to spend the first day of the new year with you and Henry, but Mary Margaret called this morning with a 'friend emergency'. Never had to deal with one of those before, but it sounded important. I'd like to see you and the little man today though. Maybe dinner? Let me know._

_ES_

_Oh, and Regina? I really **could** fall in love with you._

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: drop a little review? for me?


	11. It's All A Blur Last Night

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: so, i know i said i had to study (and i actually do) but it turns out when i get all agitated i can't do stuff i don't want to do. i'm stubborn like that. hence, a new chapter. well that, and the nfl playoffs for some reason inspire me to write. not sure why. one moment i'm jumping up and down screaming at the tv and the next i'm typing like crazy at halftime. it's a flaw. this is one of my favourite chapters, though once more there is a slight swan queen defecit. this one focuses more on mary margaret and emma's relationship. there is a splash of a suggestive swan queen phone call and then our ladies reunite at the end, but all the in between is storybrooke with a slight dash of the hangover. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 11: It's All A Blur Last Night**

Emma fumbled with her keys as she tried to unlock the door to the flat she shared with Mary Margaret. This was not how she had pictured her morning going. She imagined lingerie and the tan expanse of the mayor's skin. She had pictured languid kisses shared throughout the morning as they began the new year with breakfast together. Tomorrow, they both would return to work. Emma would start as deputy and Regina would be the mayor once more. She had wanted to spend one final day together before that happened. She had gotten a taste of what Regina's work day was like yesterday, and although she had her little project to keep her occupied the whole time, she had still felt the brunette's absence keenly. She'd gotten used to having the brunette around all the time, just a text away, always waiting with a smile for her to come over.

But one call had changed all that. She had been surprised to see the name flashing across the screen of her cell as she'd stumbled out of bed to grab it before it woke the brunette. The vibration against the hardwood floor had seemed as loud as a scream in the comfortable cocoon of silence they'd created on the mayor's bed. She'd nearly pounced on her phone, buried under the mayor's discarded trousers, which had slipped off the chair sometime during the night. It had been just before dawn, the sky only just beginning to tinge with pink outside the bedroom window.

She had considered not answering. Who called their roommate that early in the morning? Emma warned that the celebration might go so late that she'd just crashed in one of Regina's guest bedrooms before Mary Margaret had disappeared with the remainders of their little craft project in tow a half hour before the mayor had arrived home the previous night. She knew where Emma was, so why even bother calling? But it was that very thought that had caused her to pick it up. What if her roommate was hurt?

But she hadn't sounded hurt, just frantic. The brunette had been on the verge of hysteria; Emma could hear the panic in her voice, the tears that were causing the normally soft spoken woman's voice to grow thick. Something had happened. Emma didn't know what it was and she couldn't get Mary Margaret to tell her over the phone. She just kept on repeating that she needed her help.

So she'd left. Not before jotting down a quick note to the brunette which she'd left on the bed. In her still half-asleep haze and haste to get home and see what the emergency was, she'd slipped into her leggings, but had grabbed the mayor's silk shirt instead of her sweater dress. She had sworn it hadn't been intentional, and on some level she was positive it hadn't, but maybe somewhere in her subconscious, she had wanted to keep the mayor close at hand, even when they weren't together. All she knew was that this had better be good. That bed had been impossibly warm and comfortable, Regina's body pressing softly against hers as the woman slept.

She may even have broken her pact with herself and initiated something physical. She knew the moment she did, what they had developed between them lost its plausible deniability. Up until now, if one of them changed their mind, they could just say it was a surge of emotions. They'd gone through something together and it had caused a temporary emotional attachment. They had an excuse. But the second she allowed it to go any further, there was no going back. She had a feeling that Regina wasn't the type to sleep around and she wasn't in the habit of sleeping with people she'd ever have to see again, especially not her boss' boss. They'd be forced to confront this, whatever **this** was, head on, to give it a name and therefore parametres. Was she really ready for that? Was she ready to call Regina her girlfriend and take all the responsibility that came with that title?

_Yes_, a small whisper flitted through the back of her head. She squeezed her eyes shut to banish it back to where it came from. She had never been one for emotional responses. She would have kept her baby if she had been. No, she always made her decision in the moment, a fly by the seat of her pants gal. Emotion never factored in; she thrived on pure survival instinct.

But even in the one short week she'd been here, and despite knowing almost nothing about this town or any of its residents, she felt at home here. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, a much slower pace of life, yet it fit somehow, like that one piece of the puzzle you turn this way and that, looking at its odd shape and believing there's no possible way it could fit where its supposed to, and then you place it down, and it does, almost as if by magic. She knew so little about this place, but she felt as if she'd lived here forever. And Regina... her more than anything else, felt like home.

But she had time to think about that later. Now, she was faced with the more pressing issue of what had gotten her roommate all out of sorts. She could only hope that Mary Margaret was okay and she hadn't taken too long getting here from the mayor's house.

She ran a hand through her blonde hair, combing through the tangles with her fingers to make herself at least somewhat presentable as she opened the door.

Mary Margaret was sitting on the couch. She didn't look up as Emma came in and closed the door softly. She was staring straight ahead, oblivious to the world around her. Her legs were bent at the knee and pulled against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them, as if she were trying to make herself as small as possible on the couch cushion. She was rocking ever so slightly. The whole thing reminded Emma of a fifties housewife who had lost her marbles after stabbing her husband to death. In her defence, he had complained about her cooking just one too many times that week! She would have laughed at the analogy if she hadn't been so worried.

She approached the couch slowly, keeping her movements slow and purposeful. She didn't want to shock the woman and freak her out, not before she could take stock of what she was dealing with here. She had no idea what Mary Margaret's state of mind was. When the woman still made no acknowledgment of her presence when she was standing right beside her, she felt safe enough to sit down next to her. She put a hand on the woman's knee, physically making her presence known. "Hey."

Mary Margaret's green eyes, rimmed in bright red from crying, shifted to her. But the woman wasn't really looking at her, but rather beyond her. Emma had seen this look only twice before, and both times only in the mirror. Once when she was told Lillian would not be coming back from the hospital to pick her up, that she wouldn't be coming back from the hospital at all, and then once more when she'd handed over the green wrapped bundle of her baby to the agency officials after they'd told her they had found a placement for him.

She had been insistent that they find somewhere for him to go before she handed him over. She refused to let him be condemned to the system as she once had. That's not why she had given him up. She hadn't wanted him to be as damaged as she was. No, she had wanted him to go to someone better than her. When they'd come in later that very day it had been to tell her that he had been placed out of state. The woman handling her case, a sweet woman in her mid-thirties with mocha skin and a svelte form who looked more like a model than a caseworker (Emma had nicknamed her Halle, after Halle Berry, though her real name was Alyssa), had let slip some details about the family that her boy was being placed with, though she wouldn't give location or name.

That haunted look that had been in her eyes as they carried him off, that same look in Mary Margaret's green irises now, sometimes followed her in her dreams. She felt herself flinch as if the look had caused a physical blow, but she recovered quickly. This wasn't about her past, it was about her roommate's present. "Hey." She tried to make her voice as soft and as soothing as possible. "What happened?" She didn't know what could have happened. It had been barely twelve hours since she'd last seen the schoolteacher when everyone had left the mayor's house the previous evening. Ruby had gone off to work the closing shift at the diner, Ashley tagging along for lack of something better. Katherine and David had offered to help Mary Margaret take most of the remaining supplies back over the school where they had been originally borrowed from, before they claimed they would be going home to celebrate. And Graham had left the station unattended to help them out, wiring the emergency dispatch to his phone while he was gone just in case a crime happened, though he hadn't seemed very fearful all while he was helping her put up the pseudo city, so he had returned to duty. She had figured Mary Margaret would just go home, ring in the new year with a cup of tea and some trashy romance novel.

Mary Margaret's eyes moved quickly over Emma as if trying to process that she was there. Finally, she unwrapped her arms from around her legs and let them fall to the floor. She stood and beckoned for Emma to follow.

The blonde did so, hesitant at first, but driven forward by her curiosity.

Mary Margaret, padding around on quiet feet in her socks, having discarded her Keds at some point, made her way over to her bedroom door. She beckoned Emma in close and only when the blonde had actually came to stand right beside her, did she push open the door.

Emma had to quickly cover her mouth to keep from crying out in shock. Laying askew across the bed, was David Nolan. A decidedly _naked_ David Nolan. Or at least his top half was. The sheet covered his bottom half from view, but he lay on his stomach with his bare well muscled back completely exposed. Emma's eyes didn't lose their saucer like quality. Mary Margaret had slept with David Nolan? But he was married! To Regina's best friend! Oh this was not going to end good.

She was damned if she did, damned if she didn't. Mary Margaret was her roommate, there was a certain required amount of loyalty owed there, not to mention the fact that she genuinely liked the schoolteacher. This was _one_ mistake, lord knew Emma had made a million mistakes herself, and she truly believed the brunette shouldn't be condemned for this one bad decision. And she had little doubt that she would be if Regina found out; the mayor would crucify her. And then there was Regina on the other hand. Though she wasn't quite sure what it meant, she knew, though she wouldn't admit it except in the confines of her head, that she might actually love this woman. She would want to know if her best friend's husband was being unfaithful. And she would expect Emma to tell her if Emma had any hard evidence. She may be a little rusty on certain subjects, but she was pretty goddamn sure said husband naked in her roommate's bed was considered hard evidence.

She reached out and closed the door, pulling Mary Margaret towards the kitchen. She sat the woman down on one of the stools at the counter and then walked around to the other side. She started the kettle for tea and then turned back, leveling the brunette with disbelieving eyes. "What happened?!"

Mary Margaret finally looked as if her senses were returning to her. Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she shook her head back and forth, her mouth twisting with emotion. "I don't know how it happened." She sounded so wounded and helpless that Emma almost forgot her own anger at being trapped between a rock and a hard place in light of the obvious internal torture Mary Margaret was subjecting herself to. "What am I going to do Emma?"

Emma closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, a move worthy of the mayor. "Tell me exactly what happened after you left last night."

"Katherine, Da..." She stuttered over his name, unable to bring herself to utter it now. "The three of us returned all the supplies to the school and then agreed to go to Granny's to all have dinner together. Once we were there and having fun, Ruby suggested that we celebrate there. The diner closed at ten, and after she dragged out the little television from the back and set it up on the counter, we drank, well most of us did anyway, and we watched the ball drop. I remember D... he was sober and he offered to drive us home." She put her head in her hands, shaking it back and forth as if it would dispel last night into the void. "Next thing I know, I woke up with my dress unzipped, on my bedroom floor, curled up on a blanket. And he... well he was like **that**." She gestured towards her closed bedroom door and the man they knew was sleeping in the room beyond.

Emma felt as if she was going to get sick. This was not good. This was so not good. Regina would flip. She'd be furious. Katherine's marriage was over, there was no salvaging that. Mary Margaret would be labeled the town tramp. Nothing good would ever come from any of this. Emma did not want to witness the social plummet of Mary Margaret's reputation. She did not want to witness Katherine Nolan's marriage crumble. And, more than anything, she did not want to witness Regina's fury, not when she knew it was fueled by pain and betrayal. She never wanted to see Regina hurt. "Didn't he drive you home before he would have taken Katherine? It doesn't make sense that he'd drop his wife off at his house and then return to drive you here; except for Ruby, you live closest to the diner."

Mary Margaret shrugged. "I don't remember. I know it doesn't make sense, but he must have. How else would he have ended up in my bed?" A sob escaped her throat and she buried her head on her arms, resting crossed on the counter. "Oh Emma, I'm so screwed."

Emma was about to comfort the brunette when her phone began to buzz in the pocket of her coat. She pulled it out and felt her stomach drop as she saw Regina's face and name flashing across her screen. Shit! What was she supposed to do? She pressed ignore quickly. It was just stalling the inevitable, she knew. She had told Regina to let her know about dinner tonight in the note she had left her. As if hearing her thought, the phone went off again. She wasn't going to avoid this. With a sigh she accepted the call, bringing the phone up to her ear. "Morning Sleeping Beauty." She tried to keep a playful lightness in her tone."

"You, Miss Swan, have left me hanging twice in less than twelve hours."

She could almost hear the pout in the woman's voice. She couldn't even see the older brunette, but she found herself wanting to kiss that pout away. "I have little doubt that you will find a creative way for me to make it up to you later."

"Ooh, is that a promise?"

Emma smiled. "As a matter of fact it is."

"How's your 'friend emergency' going?"

Emma tensed. It was an innocent question but she felt the lie she knew she had to utter stick in her throat, refusing to come out. "It's... ongoing." There. That wasn't exactly a lie.

"Tell the Virgin Mary to get over whatever mundane issue has affected her day so she can return you to me." Regina's tone had already slipped to the brink of annoyance. Regina obviously hated to share, especially with someone as high on her shit list as Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"Behave." She glanced back over to her roommate whose head was still buried against her arms, her face hidden from view, her shoulders shaking with her silent sobs.

"Only if you agree to be back here as soon as possible, the earlier the better, but certainly for dinner. I'm baking."

Emma didn't answer, her thoughts wandering to the situation at hand and her internal conflict over which woman most deserved her loyalty. She couldn't lie to Regina. But could she really destroy Mary Margaret's reputation just to tell Regina the truth? The woman didn't deserve her life thrown into such scrutiny; it was just one drunken mistake.

"Miss Swan, I'm quite serious. I expect her to send you back to me before dinner tonight." Her voice dropped an octave, a low growl in her throat. "Or I may just have to go over there and drag you back here myself."

"I'll be there. As soon as I can, I promise. I have to go deal with... all this."

"Don't keep me waiting _Emma_." She could hear Regina's seductive smile, the promise dripping in her voice as she purred the blonde's name. "I've never been a patient woman."

Emma looked at the phone as the brunette disconnected the call. If she wasn't careful, Regina Mills was going to be the death of her.

"What am I going to do?" Mary Margaret dragged her fingers through her short locks, looking utterly miserable and helpless. She knew this would ruin her. She could see it now. Regina would blacklist her. The parents would pull students from her class. Katherine would hate her. Regina would probably insist Emma move out and in with her and Henry. She might as well just quit her job and become a cat lady. It was all that would be left to her after this got out.

Emma was about to respond when she was interrupted by a sound that was slightly inhuman. Ruby shuffled down the stairs. She was wearing a pair of charcoal sweats that Emma recognised as her own. Her arm was held over her chest, keeping her bare breasts from Emma's view. Her hair was messy and stuck up in random spots. Her makeup from the previous day was slightly smeared. She walked slowly past the women and to the fridge. Emma and Mary Margaret both watched curious as Ruby opened the door with her free hand and reached inside. They both couldn't hide their slightly shocked expressions when instead of removing milk or eggs or something else one might find in a refrigerator, she came away holding up a red silk bra and a water bottle in her hand.

She walked back the way she came, still shuffling like the undead, stopping only momentarily to grab the bottle of aspirin. Then she re-ascended the stairs as if she hadn't just come in and left them speechless. In fact, Emma wasn't quite sure if Ruby even realised they were there.

Emma pointed after the younger woman with her thumb. "So... um, what in the fuck was **that**?"

Mary Margaret stared after Ruby with a slightly confused expression. "She must have slept over. Before you moved in, whenever Granny would get slightly overbearing, I'd let Ruby come over and crash in the spare room for a few days."

"You do realise she just came downstairs, topless, and removed her bra from our _fridge_?" Emma's eyebrows went almost up to her hairline.

Mary Margaret's nose scrunched. "Yea, that was kinda weird, wasn't it?"

Emma cringed as she thought of what damage the younger girl had done to her room. Normally she wouldn't care but she had left the photo albums in their box right there on top of the dresser. She'd just die if any damage had come to them. "I'm going to just go upstairs and check on her. I'll be right back." She gave Mary Margaret an understanding look. "Then we'll figure this out together okay?"

Mary Margaret nodded solemnly.

Emma took the stairs quickly, dashing up and to her room, terrified of what she would find when she got there. She was already picturing the worst kind of disaster. The door was closed, but she didn't care to knock. It wasn't like Ruby had any parts she hadn't seen on herself before and it was her room after all. She threw open the door and was not anywhere near prepared for what she found.

Her eyes went so wide she thought they might literally pop out of her head. She slid along the wall until she reached the white box, which was, thankfully, unharmed in the mess before dashing back out, closing the door behind her. Her heart pounded like she had just snuck into a sleeping bear's den and barely made it out alive. She felt like she had. She noticed her hand was still on the knob and she pulled in away quickly as if the metal burned her skin. She threw one last gaze at the closed door before she bolted for the stairs.

She kept on looking over her shoulder as she made her way back down with the box tucked under her arm.

Mary Margaret was where she left her. The brunette jumped a little as Emma set the heavy box down on the counter. She saw Emma's expression and her brow furrowed. "What's wrong? She didn't completely trash your room, did she? I can talk to her. I'm sure she'll clean up the mess."

"I don't care about the mess." Emma swallowed, her face slightly pale.

"Emma, really, what's wrong?" Mary Margaret's misery was temporarily overshadowed by her concern for her roommate.

"Well, um, let's just say you're in the clear in regards to your, um,_ situation_."

Mary Margaret couldn't hide her confusion. "Why do you say that?"

Emma bit her bottom lip, her eyes raising to the ceiling as if she could see through it up into her room. "Because, David wasn't the only Nolan sharing someone else's bed."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina was staring at her phone long after she'd hung up with the blonde. A smirk graced her face as she tapped the small device absentmindedly against the table in front of her. She pushed away the remnants of her breakfast, a bowl of fresh cut fruit. She'd been picking at it steadily as she contemplated whether it was appropriate to call the blonde and now that she had, she was suddenly hungry for something entirely different.

"Momma? Where's Emma?" Henry shuffled softly into the dining room, looking as if he hadn't slept at all the night before.

"She's helping Miss Blanchard this morning sweetheart, but she'll be back for dinner tonight."

Henry nodded. He walked over to Regina's chair and crawled up onto her lap, snuggling in until he found a comfortable place and then looked up at her with his hazel green eyes. "Momma, I feel tired."

She slipped her phone in the pocket of her robe before she put a hand to his forehead. He felt slightly warm, but not quite feverish. "Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt right now?" She stroked soothingly down his back.

"Just sleepy." His little head fell on her shoulder as if he couldn't bear to hold it up anymore. He wrapped his little arms around her waist and he closed his eyes.

It only took a few minutes before his breathing evened out. Regina stood, adjusting the little boy to her hip, carrying him back out of the room and back up the stairs. She slipped into his room and laid him back down on his bed, tucking the blankets back up around him. She laid down beside him, stroking her hand up and down his arm. Her poor little man, the excitement of the past few days was getting to him.

The brunette pulled the phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. No call, no text. It had been less than a half hour since she'd hung up with the blonde, but she needed her here. What if Henry was getting sick? What if there was a complication with his surgery? It had only been a week. Something still could have gone wrong.

She wasn't sure how long she lay there with Henry, alternating between checking her phone and stroking his arm before she felt her eyes start to grow heavy. It was less than a minute before her eyes closed and she drifted off next to her son.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at each of the faces of the four people sitting on the couch, all looking slightly ashamed of themselves. Each held a glass of water in their hand and aspirin had been passed around. She crossed her arms across her chest and tried to look intimidating, despite the fact that she was younger than three of the four people before her, and even the younger one was only her junior by one year.

"Now, let's try this again." She glanced between them. "What happened last night after you left the diner?"

Just as with every time she'd posed the question before, everyone started talking at once. She held up her hands. "Okay, obviously that strategy is not going to work."

They were an odd looking bunch, sitting side by side on the couch. David on the right, a sheet wrapped around his bottom half. They had discovered that he was indeed wearing teenage mutant ninja turtle boxers after he had kicked all the blankets off in his sleep, but now that he was awake and sober, he retained the sheet to keep his modesty in tact. Next to him was Katherine, her face a permanent shade of red. She too had a sheet wrapped around herself, covering her pink bra and underwear from the eyes of everyone else, though Emma had gotten quite an eyeful when she'd walked into her room to find a still very topless Ruby cuddling with Katherine in her bed, both with their eyes closed and oblivious to the world around them. Ruby sat to her left. She still wore Emma's dark gray sweats, but she had agreed to put her red bra back on, though she made no move to cover herself, obviously comfortable with her body enough to let it be on display. Mary Margaret took up the leftmost spot on the small couch, the only one of the four fully dressed. She was staring to the left, keeping from looking at the man on the opposite end of the couch at all cost, the muscles in her neck straining from the effort of fighting her urge to seek out the object of her desire.

"Um, David you drove which means you were sober, hopefully, when everyone came here, though that obviously changed sometime later." She uncrossed her arms to run the fingers of her right hand through her blonde locks as she tried to piece together the events of the previous night. "So, what happened when you left the diner?"

David scrunched his eyes in concentration as he tried to remember back to the events after midnight. "Ashley and I were the only ones who hadn't had anything to drink, but she couldn't drive in her condition."

"It's not a _condition_." Ruby rolled her eyes. "She's pregnant; it's not like she has _cancer_. Just like a guy..."

"Ruby!" Mary Margaret finally let her head look to the right, staring at her friend beside her, before her eyes drifted apologetically to the blonde standing before them.

Ruby seemed to realise her mistake a second later and her eyes went wide. "Oh, Emma, I didn't mean it like that."

Emma swallowed down the sliver of pain in her chest and held up a hand. "No apology necessary. Don't worry about it."

"Anyway..." David ran a hand back over his short hair, looking slightly uncomfortable as he continued his record of events. "I only had my truck, so I offered to take Ashley home and come back for Katherine, but Ruby crawled into the truck bed and Mary Margaret and Katherine followed. They'd been like the Three Drunk Musketeers all night."

"Sweet. I call D'Artagnan!" Ruby grinned.

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "D'Artagnan is not one of the three."

"Oh..." Ruby looked thoughtful for a moment. "What are my options?"

"Athos, Aramis, and Porthos." Emma was the one to respond.

"Oh cool. I call Aramis."

Everyone besides Ruby rolled their eyes collectively.

Emma turned her gaze back to David. "You were saying?"

"Yes well, I thought it was late enough and I'd drive slow and there was no way I was going to convince them to get out. So, I just drove Ashley home with them in the back. Ruby and Mary Margaret both live in town, so I drove back, hitting here first and the next thing I know, Ruby was leading all of us upstairs."

"Where I found that someone had drank the bottle of tequila I left here." Ruby pointed out seriously, as if she wanted to lodge a formal complaint with the department.

Emma and Mary Margaret both conveniently found something very interesting about their hands at that exact moment.

"So, then Ruby called Graham and invited him over, telling him to bring alcohol. Graham showed up twenty minutes later with two bottles of Grey Goose and a bottle of Jack. I think a six pack too, but this is where things start to get fuzzy."

"I remember, we played poker!" Katherine looked highly pleased that she was able to remember something.

"No, we played spin the bottle." Ruby shook her head and then put a hand to it as the motion caused a flash of pain.

"No, that was later." Katherine shook her head. "Ruby was losing. I remember the alcohol was making her hot, so she kept on sticking her clothes in the fridge after she had to take each piece off so they'd be cool when she put them back on."

Emma leveled Mary Margaret with a glance that said _'you actually allowed this?_'.

Ruby followed her gaze and rolled her eyes. "She'd already passed out. Lightweight. She didn't even make it to spin the bottle."

Emma wanted to laugh. Well that explained everything then. Everyone's mutual state of undress was from a game of strip poker, Ruby's bra had been in the fridge to cool down, and Mary Margaret had still been clothed and asleep because she'd gone to sleep before they started playing. There was only one question left. "What happened to Graham? When did he go home?"

They all looked at each other and shrugged.

Why hadn't he woken everyone up? Had the Sheriff driven home drunk? She crossed into the downstairs bathroom, the only room with a window facing the front of the building besides her bedroom upstairs. She peered out through the glass to see that the patrol car was still parked in front of the building. She was parked right behind it. She hadn't paid attention this morning in her haste to find out what was wrong with Mary Margaret. How weird? She hadn't seen him anywhere.

She shrugged. He had to turn up eventually. Maybe he'd just decided to walk home, doing the responsible thing and not driving drunk. She turned from the window and screamed so loud it was sure to have awoken the entire building. A bare leg was hanging out over the edge of the claw foot tub. A hairy leg. Slowly, she approached the offending limb. The closer she came, the more she saw of the body it was attached to, until she saw the entirety of the man as she stood a couple feet away from the tub. Well it was safe to say she'd found Graham.

Mary Margaret appeared in the doorway, summoned by her scream. "Emma, are you okay?"

"I have a feeling he lost the game." She gestured to the form of her completely nude boss passed out in the tub.

"What do you... Oh! Oh my God." Mary Margaret covered her eyes as she caught sight of the naked man in her bathtub.

Emma rolled her eyes, patting her roommate's shoulder as she passed her on her way out of the bathroom. "Well, I'd say that gives an explanation for everything. Good luck with all that." She walked back into the kitchen and grabbed her wallet and keys off the counter.

Mary Margaret followed her out, for the moment ignoring the man in the tub. "You're leaving? Now?!"

Emma nodded. "I'm sorry, but that was more of my boss than I was ever prepared to see. And I did what I came here to do. I got to the bottom of your predicament." She gave her roommate a quick hug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have plans." She walked over to the door. "Oh, Ruby, don't forget that your underwear are still in the crisper between the bag of baby carrots and the container of fresh spinach."

Mary Margaret made a face as Ruby saluted the blonde in understanding.

Emma just grinned and shut the door.

For a long moment everyone was quiet.

Ruby's head swung back and forth as she looked at each of their blank faces. "Dude, she was so wearing the mayor's shirt from yesterday. Can anyone say mayoral booty call?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It was early afternoon when Emma made it back to the mayoral mansion. She knocked twice but received no response. That was weird. She tried the handle on the off chance and was rewarded as it opened easily. Slipping inside, she closed it softly behind her and locked it.

The light was on it the dining room, but it was empty, a half eaten bowl of fruit sitting before Regina's usual seat. The chair was pulled back, as if someone had just gotten up from sitting there. She checked the kitchen, but Regina wasn't there.

Slowly, she climbed the stairs, listening for any sounds to indicate if the brunette was even home. Panic started to creep its way in like the slow descent of a thick fog. It wasn't like Regina to leave the door unlocked and a half eaten bowl of food on the table. If there was one thing the brunette seemed to respect, it was order. Had something happened to Henry? Why hadn't Regina called her? All idea of keeping silent went out the window as she took the rest of the stairs two at a time, rushing over to Henry's door. It was wide open.

She felt her panic instantly dissipate as she took in the two figures curled up together on the small bed. Henry was tucked in tightly under the blue duvet, sleeping soundly. Regina was curled up in her robe on top of the blankets, in a similar state of slumber.

She walked in and took a moment to smooth down Henry's hair. He seemed slightly warm but he didn't seem to be sweating or pale. Plus, Regina would have taken him to the hospital if there was something pressing.

She scooped Regina up into a bridal style carry. Her muscles screamed at the sudden weight, but she maintained her hold easily enough as she turned and headed out of the little boy's room. She carried the brunette down the hall. She kicked open the door to the master suite with the tip of her boot, carrying the older woman inside and depositing her gently on the bed. She closed the door before untying the woman's thin robe and pushing it off, leaving her once more with only her lingerie to protect her modesty. Emma pulled off her leggings and the mayor's shirt, tossing them to where they'd previously been on the chair.

She was grateful the mayor hadn't made the bed. It made it easy to get the duvet over their bodies as she curled into the woman's warm form. She closed her eyes and moments later, she'd fallen back to sleep, picking up right where they'd left off as if she'd just left the moment on pause this whole time.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: okay, i'm semi-serious this time. no more for at least a few days, you insaitable people... who i love and adore. i'd marry you all if i could. review if you want more and i'll try to update as soon as possible


	12. A Quiet Evening At Home

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

(A VERY IMPORTANT) A/N:: **it saddens me greatly to inform my readers that this very well may be the last chapter of this story, as well as of all my other stories.** long story short, i have unfortunately been threatened with eviction if i continue to pursue writing not only fanfiction, but any original works as well. i was able to negotiate the posting of one final update (this one) so that i didn't leave my readers hanging with no explanation. as i am currently not in a financial position to find an alternate living arrangement, i have no choice but to adhere to the new rules set forth. i am deeply and truly sorry. as this is the result of false accusations and misplaced blame, i am currently trying to negotiate different terms so that i may continue to write for you guys, but things are not looking well. these stories, especially dreamscape and this one, are so very prescious to me and i could never imagine leaving them unfinished. therefore, i will continue to write, even if i'm limited to napkins and the backs of receipts and any other paper-like surfaces i can find, and then, when my laptop is given back to me and/or this writing ban is lifted, i will try and post. my sincerest and deepest apologies to the lovers of any of my stories. if i could change the hate, i would believe me. the whole situation would be extremely hilarious if it weren't so sad. if you have any questions at all regarding this writing ban or when i may be able to start writing again, feel free to PM me and i will gladly answer to the best of my ability. with that, on with the chapter.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 12: A Quiet Evening At Home**

Emma's hand wrapped around the branch. She felt the muscles in her arms flex and burn in protest as she used them to heft herself up to the branch. She was in the Queen's infamous orchard as she was most every day around this time. It had become her place, somewhere to escape and reflect, to be alone for awhile, all while still remaining on the castle grounds. As a gift, the Queen had set up a small swing, sturdy in construction, hanging from the thickest branch of the oldest tree in the private orchard, a honeycrisp tree that was unnaturally thick of trunk and branch and produced extraordinarily sweet fruits. Emma knew that magic must be involved in the tree's growth, though the Queen insisted it was just a loving hand that made the tree so special. It was that very swing that was the cause of her current position, halfway up the tree, nearly hidden from the ground by its thick leaves.

"Please come down Your Grace. If the Queen hears of this, she will be quite displeased." She heard the pleading fear in her handmaid's voice. There would be hell to pay if Regina even believed for one second that the young woman was a party to compromising the safety of the blonde. She'd been on edge so much recently in regards to the safety of the Princess, her strict rules were starting to border on ridiculous.

For a moment, her guilt almost sent her back down to the ground. But no. She sqaured her shoulders and held her head high. "Really Faleen, I've done this many a time since my youth. You shouldn't worry." She crawled along the length of the branch until she was in its center. Her legs wobbled dangerously as she tried to stand. She finally made it vertical, grabbing the next branch up and hauling herself up. The twisted rope lay halfway down the branch ahead of her. She laid on her stomach, giving herself a moment to get her balance before she reached out. Her fingers made contact with the kink in the rope and deftly started to work the knot out. Stupid tree swing. The thing knotted so easily whenever a wind blew through the apple orchard. She almost had it all out when the rope began to glow an electric violet. The sudden energy made her rip her hand back so fast that her center of gravity shifted and her feet lost traction on the branch.

She felt herself slipping, her feet sliding across the bark, trying to regain her footing, but all efforts were futile. She tried to make her body as relaxed as possible to absorb the impact of the ground. She felt the air swooping, displaced around her body as she tumbled through it. She didn't cry out, just took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. But she never hit the ground.

The impact was hard but the arms that caught her absorbed all the impact. Once she realised she wasn't going to splatter on the hard earth like a bug, she looked into the face of her rescuer. And was met with an expression that was nothing short of angry. Emma had just enough time to frown apologetically at a chastised looking Faleen before she disappeared in a swirl of smoke, magically whisked away.

When they reappeared, it was in their bed chamber and Regina dropped her unceremoniously onto the soft bed. She landed on the feathery softness with a quiet thump.

Regina was unusually silent as she paced away, but Emma knew better. She was angry, the blonde Princess could feel it rolling off her in waves. She was seething; she always had this kind of reaction when Emma was careless with her safety. And, unfortunately for the brunette, she often was.

"The tree swing was tangled." It sounded pathetic, even to Emma. It was just a tree and she didn't see the harm in climbing it.

"Faleen was with you, was she not?" Regina still hadn't turned from where she was looking out the open wall, surveying the land far below.

"She is afraid of heights."

"Then she will be replaced by a servant that is capable."

Emma shook her head even though Regina wasn't looking at her. "You agreed I could choose my own handmaids."

At this, Regina turned, her eyes sparkling, though Emma couldn't tell whether from unshed tears or from the burning anger. "Only if their incompetence doesn't put you at risk!" Her voice was a acidic hiss. Burning anger it was then.

"I'm not made of glass like one of your mirrors Regina. I'm not that fragile and I refuse to be treated in such a manner." She slid off the bed, taking her own stand and stubbornly crossing her arms across her chest.

"You may not be made of glass." Regina crossed the room slowly. "But neither are you unbreakable." She stepped into Emma's personal space, her scent filling the blonde's nose and dizzying her senses, instantly making her forget that she thought Regina was overreacting. "The peace between your family and myself is tenuous at best, held together only by a mutual love for one person. You. What would happen to that treaty if you were to fall from a tree and break your neck?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "I have climbed many trees in my life. I haven't fallen since I was but a child."

"You fell today." Regina pursed her lips.

"That, is because your magic spooked me and broke my concentration. I was perfectly capable of completing the task myself. I thought we discussed you using magic for mundane tasks."

Regina smirked. "The subject was discussed, yes, but I hardly remember us reaching any sort of agreement on the matter, do you?"

Emma frowned. She didn't want the woman to become too reliant on magic. It was quite useful, but it could also fail you when you needed it most. She didn't fully trust in things that couldn't be explained.

Regina's anger seemed to dissipate at the sight of Emma's frown. Her arm slipped around the blonde's waist, pulling her into a soft embrace. "You are my greatest treasure. I will never not fear for you."

Emma smiled, resting her forehead against the brunette's shoulder. "I am sorry. I will try to take more care in my activities."

Regina smiled against the Princess' golden hair. "That is all I ask." She always seemed to win their arguments in the end, though Emma never failed to challenge her. "Many thanks, dear one." She had always been better at showing her appreciation, rather than vocalising it, so she let her hands slide down the blonde's arms, then they veered off to her stomach, sliding over the soft material of her tunic until they had found their way up and over the round fullness of the blonde's breasts.

The blonde gasped, arching instantly into the older woman's touch. Would she ever stop craving it? "Regina."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina heard her name, spoken gently, and it woke her from sleep. She smelled the faintest traces of something spicy, fringed with hints of vanilla. Her first instinct was to bring her nose closer to the scent; it smelled mouthwatering. Her nose brushed against something soft. She smiled as she became aware of her body and where it was. Her fingers were buried in silky strands, every inch of her flesh seemed to be pressed against the flesh of another. **Emma**. So _deliciously_ Emma.

She opened her eyes and was greeted by a breast, separated from her only by the thin red lace of the blonde's bra. The brunette placed a reverent kiss to the material and the flesh it protected from her impatient lips. She smirked as Emma murmured her name once more in her sleep, curling more into the contact as if, even in her dreams, she was being ravaged by Regina this very moment. She licked a trail up the woman's clavicle to her neck, sucking softly on her warm skin. Her mouth then moved to nip along the blonde's strong jaw, ending at her lips, kissing them with bruising impact. She rolled the entire length of her body suggestively against the one beside hers, but Emma remained oblivious to her attentions.

Had she imagined everything? Had this morning without Emma all been a figment of her imagination? Had she been asleep this whole time? Was it just a dream? The time on the bedside clock told her the day was approaching early evening. So it hadn't been a dream. It had happened, which meant Emma had come back from dealing with the schoolteacher's crisis. She was hers all evening. A shiver ran down her back at the possibilities that stirred in her mind.

"Emma." She traced a finger over the blonde's facial features, skimming over brows, cheekbones, lips. She could spend hours staring at this woman's face and never get bored. She wanted to memorise every minute detail. "Emma darling, wake up."

The blonde's eyes slowly slid open, looking disoriented as they cleared from the haze of sleep. Green focused on brown and a smile quirked across Emma's lips. "Mmm, hey."

Regina smiled affectionately at the woman laying beside her and pushed a long strand of blonde hair behind an ear. "Hey yourself."

"Fancy meeting you here." Her own hand reached over, tracing Regina's lips. She replaced her fingers with her lips, her hand snaking around to the back of the brunette's neck, pulling her mouth into hers, nipping at her full bottom lip.

Regina felt the heat clawing low in her belly. Would she ever satisfy this hunger? Once again, she rolled her body against the beautiful one beside hers.

Emma smiled against the mouth of the brunette. "Eager, are we?"

Regina pulled away. "You have no idea darling." She attacked the flesh of the blonde's neck, laving her tongue across the soft skin, picking a spot and wrapping her lips around it, sucking...hard.

Emma had never been one to let herself be marked. She was her own person, not someone's property. But she wanted this. She wanted everyone to know where she belonged, who she belonged to. "I'm yours." Regina sucked all the harder at her words, so hard that a pleasureable burn radiated across the flesh of Emma's throat. She held the brunette's head against her, tilting her own head to give the woman better access to her neck.

Regina pulled away with a wet pop. She stared down at her handiwork, tracing the tip of a finger around the edges of the darkened flesh. "Mine." Her tongue snuck out, caressing the underside of the blonde's jaw.

Emma shivered at that one word, said so possessively, a moan escaping her lips as the older woman's tongue touched her flesh once more.

Regina could feel the vibration from the moan in her tongue. She pulled up from her assault to look down into Emma's eyes, her own darkened with lust. "Do you have any idea how I've been longing to touch you Emma? How much I've wanted you?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma leaned her forehead against the tile of the huge shower in Regina's en suite bathroom. The throbbing between her legs was distracting and she wanted nothing more than to reach between her thighs and ease the pressure. But this wasn't her shower; it wouldn't be appropriate to satisfy herself, especially when she knew Regina was most likely hurting more than she was.

They'd been very close. Regina's fingers had been stroking Emma's stomach as she asked her questions. Emma had been unable to respond, her mouth had gone dry. She had known in that moment that she would give in. But in the momentary silence, they had heard Henry calling out for Regina.

They had both jumped from the bed, the boy's cry like instant ice to their passionate exchange. Regina had pulled on her robe while Emma had slipped into her sweater dress from the previous day, foregoing her leggings, not wanting to take too long. Then they'd bolted down the hall to the little boy's room.

He'd been sitting up in bed, his back ramrod straight, his eyes frantic. He was sweating so much that his fleece footie pajamas were plastered against his skin, his hair visibly damp. Regina hadn't said anything, just slid onto the bed, pulling him into her lap. He had thrashed a little in the embrace, but finally relaxed into her arms and buried his face against her chest.

_Nightmare_. Regina had mouthed the word to her over the boy's head. Apparently he had them quite a bit. Emma could relate; she did too.

She had no experience with children and how to soothe them. She'd always had to self-soothe in her childhood. She cautiously sat on the bed, one hand stroking up and down Henry's back in an effort to calm him. Her other hand found Regina's, lacing their fingers together. Regina had given her a look of pure gratitude.

They had finally soothed him back to sleep, giving him a dose of pain medication to ward off any potential fevers, just in case his one from earlier had a hand in bringing on his nightmare.

Regina had looked too exhausted for them to return to their previous activities, so Emma had suggested she go down and start dinner while the blonde showered. The brunette had hesitantly agreed, only disappearing down the stairs after Emma promised that they had all night.

And now she was here, standing under the lukewarm stream of water. She'd been in here for almost an hour; she knew she was hiding. But here, in the cleansing water of the shower, where everything was laid bare, she realised how scared of all this she truly was. She'd never played house before. She'd never _wanted_ to play house before.

With a sigh, she turned off the water and grabbed her towel from the rack, wrapping it around herself. A quick peek out into the bedroom told her that Regina was not inside, most likely still downstairs preparing dinner. She tiptoed across the room to the dresser. Regina had said she could help herself to anything, but as Emma checked the drawers, all she found were designer trousers that all looked unworn. Everything was too fancy for someone like her.

She was about to give up and just try and squeeze into the slacks that looked like they'd be small enough to fit Barbie, when she opened the bottom drawer and found what she was looking for. The jeans. She was surprised Regina even owned any denim. The top pairs were all dark wash and designer, most of which really did still have their tags on. But then at the very bottom of the drawer, she pulled out two pairs that were distinctly different from the rest. They were still a dark wash, but not designer... well, designer to someone who lived like her, but not to someone like Regina. They were both Levis. And they were well worn.

She slipped one pair on, setting the other on the corner of the dresser. At first the denim seemed to protest, as if they realised these weren't the legs of their true owner, but then they gave, sliding up her legs and over her ass as if they had been made for her, the denim made supple by the long term wear. They were tight when she buttoned them, but just tight enough to stretch invitingly over all the right places, not to be overly uncomfortable. She was quite sure these were her new favourite jeans.

A quick raiding of the closet found a tight white shirt. She decided to grab her red bra, since her chest was one cup size bigger than the brunette's, and pulled it on. She could see her bra through the white material, but it would have to do. Staring at herself in the mirror, she had to admit she was pleased with the look. She might even decide to wear something like this more often.

She smelled dinner before she even reached the top of the stairs. It smelled divine. She was down the staircase in six seconds and she made a beeline for the kitchen. When she walked in, Regina's back was to her. The woman was peeling potatoes over the sink. She was distracted, listening to an instrumental tune. One barefoot rose to the back of her opposite calf, moving it up and down to scratch away an itch.

Emma smiled. She was glad she remained barefoot. It allowed her to sneak across the room without a sound. She waited for a moment until the woman was finished and set down the peeler, wouldn't want to scare her into having an accident. She kissed the back of Regina's neck softly, her hands sliding over silk hips.

Regina smiled, falling back into the body behind her. "Mmm, what took you so long? I thought you were never going to join me." She turned in the embrace and pushed Emma back against the island, crushing the younger woman's lips with her own. Finally, she pulled away. Her eyes closed as she bit her bottom lip, as if she were physically trying to force herself to pull away. After a long moment, she seemed to regain her control, and step back, her eyes opening. "I'm almost done with dinner."

Emma tried to catch her breath. Her lips tingled, missing the contact. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I was going to make my infamous apple turnovers for desert, secret family recipe." She smirked. "Can I trust you?"

Emma raised a challenging eyebrow. "I don't know, can you?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma took the glass Regina offered her. The "best apple cider you've ever tasted" is what she'd said when she'd offered Emma a nightcap; it was time to test that theory. She sipped the dark golden liquid from the fancy crystal tumbler; it was divine.

Regina closed the parlour door and sat down on one of the couches, sipping from her own glass. She set it on the side table and then looked over to Emma, still standing by the door, with soft brown eyes. "Sit anywhere you'd like Emma."

For a long moment, Emma studied the woman. She'd changed into a simple, for her anyway, blue dress for dinner, not wanting to eat in her silk robe. Slowly, Emma walked over, setting her glass beside Regina's. She looked down at the brunette, who was looking up at her with just as much intensity. She lowered herself down onto Regina's lap, sitting sideways, stretching her legs out over the empty expanse of couch to their right.

Regina was surprised, but pleased, by the blonde's choice of seat, the woman's own little way of saying that of all the spots available in the room, she'd prefer to be as close as possible to the brunette. She reached her hand down and stroked the denim covered thigh of the woman on her lap. "These used to be my favourite jeans. I had several pairs, wore them through one by one, now I'm down to only two."

Emma looked down at the hand, watching the mayor's fingers playing over the seams. "I can see why. I think these are the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn."

Regina smiled. She kissed the blonde's shoulder, several soft sweet pecks. "You look better in them than I ever did."

"When did you stop wearing them?"

Regina's smile faded slightly, but didn't disappear altogether. "When Henry came along. He was this small, fragile thing. So tiny and in need of protecting. I remember holding him that first time and knowing that I had to step up my game. He was my responsibility now, and I couldn't afford to be lax in any part of my life." She shrugged, meeting Emma's eyes. "I was always a bit of a... hardass, I guess one would say. I had drive, determination, ambition. I wanted power, there was a time I would have stopped at nothing to get it. When Henry came... I knew I had to be even stronger, for him."

Emma titled her head to the side, resting it against Regina's shoulder. She traced her fingers across the back of the hand still on her thigh absentmindedly. "You know, everyone keeps telling me the same thing, that you're strict and resolute. Yet, I see none of that."

Regina contemplated that. She did treat the blonde differently. And it wasn't a struggle to do so. That's part of the reasoning that made her certain she was in love with the woman. She had no desire to be the image she projected, preferring rather to just be herself. It had been far too long since she'd been that. "I want you to see who I really am, underneath all the bullshit."

There was a distance and vulnerability in the brunette's tone that told Emma that she was the first to see the real Regina in a very long time. There was only one question. "Why?"

Regina wouldn't meet her eyes. "I don't quite understand it yet, but that day at group, I looked at you and... something changed."

Emma lifted her fingers to stroke through Regina's hair, trying to reassure her that her admission was okay. "Something changed for me too." Her hand stopped at the brunette's cheek, pushing back the hair to cup it gently. She directed the woman's mouth to hers and their lips met briefly. "Maybe our hearts decided they were both tired of being alone."

Regina smiled. There was a sincerity in Emma's eyes, a gentleness that made the brunette confident that, for tonight at least, no matter what she admitted, Emma wouldn't run. She opened her mouth to say something in response when the door opened.

Henry padded in, carrying Emma's blanket with him.

The blonde slid off Regina's lap to the empty spot on her right and beckoned him over. Henry crawled up onto Emma's lap and the blonde urged him to lay down across both their laps, his head and torso on Regina's and his legs on hers. She tucked the blanket around him and rubbed his small calf soothingly over the blanket while Regina stroked through unruly brown tufts of hair.

Regina adjusted the angle of how she sat on the couch so that she could easily lean to the side and rest her head on Emma's shoulder.

Just as with every time before, Emma Swan was surprised at how easy life was with the woman resting against her shoulder and the boy on their laps. She was content.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

They all enjoyed a brief nap downstairs before waking up to an uncomfortable stiffness. Regina pulled Henry up into her arms effortlessly; it was obviously not the first time she'd spent a night on the couch with him. Then she carried him upstairs and settled him back down before she trudged down the hall to her room. She barely even took the time to pull off her dress before falling into bed beside the blonde, who hadn't even bothered to take off the clothes she'd been wearing all day.

She turned on her side to face the blonde, one arm sliding under her pillow as she rested her head onto its softness and regarded the blonde. Emma was sitting up in bed beside her, her back resting against the headboard; she seemed lost in thought. Regina would have given almost anything in that moment for the ability to read the younger woman's mind. "Emma."

Green eyes slowly slid towards hers. The blonde looked down at her, but there was still something distant there and Regina felt the fear that it was all slipping from her welling up inside her chest. They'd made so much progress; she couldn't lose that now. The blonde seemed to snap out of it several drawn out moments later and a smile, albeit a small one, surfaced on her face. "Hmm?"

Regina studied her closely, looking for any adverse reaction to what she was about to say. "I wish you were here all the time. I like it so much when you are."

Mixed emotions flitted across Emma's face in response, though each was gone a moment after it appeared. She twisted to her right to turn off the bedside lamp and then slid down into the covers, getting more comfortable under the duvet. "I know."

Regina felt the biting sting of those two simple words. They were in no way negative, but they also weren't positive or anywhere near what she was longing to hear.

"If I was..." The blonde blew out a breath as if saying this was all extremely hard for her; it was. "If I was accustomed to indulging my emotions, I'd allow myself to be around more." She broke their shared gaze, severing off their connection as if her eyes might betray her. Maybe they would.

Regina's hand instantly found the blonde's cheek, replacing their visual connection with a physical one. "My dear sweet Emma, are you ever going to tell me who broke you?"

Emma's eyes slid up to hers, glassy with unshed tears, her hand coming to rest over the mayor's, holding it there, letting it ground her as she tried to navigate the sea of emotions raging inside her. "What if I broke myself?"

Regina let her thumb stroke soothing across the woman's fair skin. "Then we can work together to fix you."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Once again, Emma awakened before Regina. It was quickly becoming habit. She hadn't always been awake before dawn, certainly not in her younger years when sleep is counted among the three greatest treasures to a human teenager, but she'd learned to befriend the mornings. Getting up before the rest of the world, watching a new day dawn. It was symbolic, something that resonated deep within her, the knowledge that she'd survived another day. She'd lived. There was a time many years ago where that was an accomplishment to be celebrated. It still was. If anything, being closer with Henry and Regina was teaching her that lesson more and more. Life is a blessing, being there to see it a wondrous thing.

She placed a soft kiss to Regina's forehead. The woman was so patient with her demons, a woman who herself had stated that patience was not among her counted virtues. And yet she was patient with Emma. She treaded carefully, taking her time. The blonde appreciated it more than she'd ever be able to vocalise. This thing building between them was precious to her, but she saw it as a house of cards and she was just waiting for the structure to collapse. She couldn't make herself see past the fragility.

Regina had held her all night as they slept, comforting her even while unconscious. Even in her dreams, Emma had felt the embrace. She never wanted to leave it.

She went downstairs and straight to the kitchen. It was the first day of work. Life began today, her life as it would be for at least the next six months. She felt a sense of rightness about it all, as if she was in the right place and the right time for the first time in twenty three years. She poured Henry's juice, cutting it with half water and measured out his medications. There was still some fresh fruit cut up in the fridge and she pulled that out for herself while she fried an egg and put some bacon on for the lady of the house.

As she plated the breakfast and carried it into the dining room, she was once again amazed by her domesticity. It seemed Regina was training her without actually training her. She took Henry's medications and juice up to him, helping him sit up while he swallowed down the foul liquid and then chased it with the juice. He looked and felt better today, but she made a mental note to check in with Katherine around lunch time and make sure he stayed that way.

Waking Regina proved to be a harder ordeal. She shook the brunette's shoulder and got nothing but a grunt in response. A second shake yielded no better. Finally she crawled across the bed and kissed the brunette, moving her lips against the fuller ones beneath hers.

Regina's eyes popped open in momentary shock before she relaxed into the touch, one arm wrapping around the blonde's neck and trying to drag her down.

Emma broke the embrace of their mouths and smirked. "As lovely as this is, your breakfast is getting cold."

Regina raised an eyebrow, her head turning slightly so that she could look at the clock. The hour was still early, just after six. "How long have you been up?"

"Only about a half hour. I made bacon and eggs." Emma sat fully back on her legs. "Oh, and I took care of Henry too. That fever that seemed to be creeping in yesterday has gone back from whence it came."

Regina looked relieved. "Good. It wouldn't do to have to call out on my first day back."

Emma smiled teasingly. "The town would go into a mass panic, there would be rioting in the streets..."

Regina smacked her arm with the back of a hand. "Shut up. My job is important I'll have you know."

"I'm sure it is." Emma stole another quick kiss just to show she'd meant nothing by her teasing. Even as she pulled back, she kept her lips close, her tone sultry and low. "You know what else is important?"

Regina could feel her nerves and hormones already going wild. She shifted just slightly with the blonde so close, her body already wanting more contact. Her gaze flickered down to the lips hovering so close to hers, almost touching. "What?"

"Breakfast." Emma grinned, sitting back up.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews for my broken heart?


	13. Just A Spoonful Of Sugar

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: hello all. i will not say that i am officially back as things are still shaky with my situation. however, i should be able to post a few updates before i have to buckle down and put my focus completely back on work and only work. thank you to all who've stuck with this story and endured through my absence. it truly means the world to me. i hope everyone continues to stick with this story. there are still several chapters left to go and i can't wait for you all to read them. please review if you like and enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 13: Just A Spoonful Of Sugar**

The Sheriff's station was a squat little building situated in one corner of town near the edge of the woods. It was one story, stone, complete with a five space parking lot. Obviously it didn't see much traffic. She stared at the front of the building, the gold lettering that proclaimed **Storybrooke Sheriff's Department**. It was cute in that quaint small town way.

The patrol car that Graham had drove her to the mayor's in just last week was already parked in the first spot. She had pulled her bug in next to it and now sat it the front seat, delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. She was a little early. Katherine had arrived just as she and Regina had finished breakfast and she'd instantly felt out of place.

Regina had gone up to shower and get ready for work and left Emma to share awkward silence with the other blonde. Katherine couldn't meet her eyes, probably left over embarrassment from the previous day's antics. And Emma knew that being caught having breakfast with the mayor dressed in nothing but a silk robe and her dressed in the mayor's clothes, yet again, was damning evidence. There was nothing either of them could possibly say to diminish their shame. So she'd made up an excuse and left without waiting to say goodbye to Regina. She'd only stopped at Mary Margaret's flat long enough to change into something more appropriate for work, her own jeans and a long sleeved shirt layered under a brown sweater. She threw on her wool coat and was out the door all without seeing her roommate. It was only just after seven but she figured teachers probably needed to be at school long before the students.

A knock on her window startled her out of her reverie. She jumped and glared angrily at the intruder. Ruby stood outside the driver's side door, holding a coffee carrier with two to go cups, steam pouring from their little spouts. A bag was balanced in the middle.

Emma sighed and opened the door, stepping out into the cold winter morning air. "Morning Ruby."

"Deputy." Ruby smirked. "I come bearing caffeine."

Emma smiled in gratitude as she locked her car and fell into step beside the lanky brunette.

Ruby glanced sideways at her, a knowing smile quirking up the corner of her mouth. "I'm surprised."

Emma's brow furrowed in confusion as she held the front door open for the brunette to walk through. "About what?"

Ruby's smile became a grin, she put a hand to the side of her mouth to stage whisper. "That you actually let Mayor Mills brand you."

Emma's hand immediately went to the scarf at her neck, her face draining of colour. "It's showing?!" She looked around frantically for a mirror.

Ruby beamed triumphantly. "So she did brand you!"

Emma rounded on the younger woman, her eyes narrowing.

Ruby shrugged the blonde's obvious agitation off. "You're not the only one in this town with mad detecting skills, _Deputy_ Swan."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma detected one major difference between this job and every other one she'd held previously in just the first twenty minutes of her shift. Paperwork. When Graham had handed her the thick stack of new employment forms, she had seriously believed he was joking. He couldn't honestly expect her to fill out all those forms for a job she technically already had. But he had mumbled something about how the mayor insisted on being thorough and slapped the stack down onto her desk.

The inside of the station was just as uninventive and generic as the outside. The entry hall led past a small reception counter that was obviously just for looks and had never actually seen a receptionist. It continued down, a monotonous beige hall, until it was broken near the back of the building by windows built into the wall that looked into the main station house. The archway just beyond that led into the main room, which was dominated by several desks and two jail cells against the far wall. Another hallway led off to one side, going down to the interrogation rooms. A couple doors led to the bathrooms and one final one that led into the small office belonging to the Sheriff.

Graham told her that he had an open door policy so that she'd be able to communicate with him without having to knock. She believed it was more so he could play trash can basketball with the rubbish bin next to the closest desk outside his office door.

She reached page six out of what seemed like a hundred and filled out her name for the umpteenth time and once again found herself hesitating at the section that requested her address. She found herself jotting down the mayor's address just as she had on the first page. She was there so much anyway. And it's not like it would ever even be needed; it was just a formality.

It took an hour and a half to fill out all the forms in triplicate before Graham was satisfied enough to hand over the shiny deputy badge, her service weapon, and welcome her to the team. Emma bit her tongue instead of pointing out that there wasn't much of a team with only them two.

Her first order of business as the new member of the town's law enforcement team was to hold down the fort while Graham ran errands. He had only been gone twelve minutes when she realised snail pace didn't even begin to describe how much slower small town life was.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina rolled her shoulders to loosen them up. She'd been sitting for over two hours trying to make a dent in the paperwork that had stacked up in her absence over the holiday. She was booked solid through lunch, a time normally reserved to go home and check on Henry. She briefly considered calling Emma and asking her to do it, but then thought better of it. It was the woman's first day; she shouldn't bother her.

She had been highly disappointed when Emma had disappeared that morning while she was in the shower. Katherine had been early. That had never been an issue before. She'd always make them a pot of coffee and catch up with her best friend until it was time to leave for the office, but Emma had been unusually uncomfortable around the blonde. They had been avoiding looking at each other. It puzzled Regina since she knew Katherine had helped Emma set up Times Square in her living room. She didn't know how two days could have changed anything. But it had and Emma was gone when Regina came downstairs.

Her office door opened, her secretary walking in, carrying, surprise, more paperwork. She set the stack of papers on her desk. "The Sheriff just brought these in. They're your copy of the employment forms for the new deputy."

Regina's interest in the new paperwork instantly became more acute. She pulled the small stack towards her. "Thank you." She dismissed the woman with a nod and the moment the door closed, her eyes were scanning the information addictively.

She recognised Emma's handwriting from the note she'd left her the other day, careful small flowing letters. She ran her fingers over the writing as if that would somehow give her a connection to the blonde. She scanned the page, her eyes sliding across the words until she stopped, frozen halfway down the first page. _108 Mifflin Street_. Her breath caught in her throat. Her address. Emma had written down **her** address. She couldn't help the surge of warmth that suffused her system. Emma considered her house home.

She bit her lip to stop her smile, but it came anyway. She flipped through her rolodex until she found the number she was looking for and, picking up the receiver, she quickly dialed. "Hello, yes, this is Mayor Mills. I need to place an order to be delivered as soon as possible."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma had never quite understood the appeal of trash can basketball. Until now. Graham had flitted in and out most of the morning, more often out than in. She'd been left to answer calls from concerned citizens, most of which had lost all concern for their own problems when she'd answered the call. _"I don't know you. Where's the Sheriff? How do I know you're qualified to get Muffins out of that tree?"_ It had been one question after another.

Now, as she shot and scored her tenth basket in a row, she understood why every rubbish bin seemed to be teeming with paper balls. She wondered briefly at their wastefulness, but the urge to do something, anything, outweighed her small concern for the environment. She'd just shove all the paper balls in the recycling instead of the trash.

A clearing of a throat behind her caused her to whip her seat around so fast she nearly fell out of it. An older gentleman stood in the doorway. He was as squat as the building he was standing in. The thin wisps of hair peeking out from under the rim of his pageboy cap told her he was balding underneath it. His brown coat barely fit around his generous mid-section. An argyle sweater was visible under. Combined with the scarf around his neck, it all looked rather scholarly attire for someone who had an unnoticed smear of dirt on his sleeve.

"I have a delivery for an Emma Swan?"

The blonde's eyebrow shot up in curiosity. She stood. "That'd be me."

He held out a clipboard. "I just need your signature on the bottom line."

She crossed the room and grabbed the pen he offered her, signing along the dotted line on the bottom. She was searching her mind for what could possibly be being delivered. Graham hadn't told her about any deliveries.

The man disappeared with the clipboard saying he'd be a moment. When he returned a moment later, held in his hand was the grandest bouquet Emma had ever seen, the flowers already sitting in a temporary plastic vase to keep them fresh until she could get them back to the flat.

Emma stared at them wide eyed. "These are for **me**? Are you sure you got the delivery right?"

"If you're Emma Swan, these are for you." He placed the vase into her hands and paused only long enough to tip his hat before he disappeared back down the hall.

She carried the flowers back to her desk, setting them down carefully on the bare surface. A white card was tucked in between the stems. She pulled it out. She didn't recognise the writing, but it was done carefully, in deliberately legible box letters with the practised hand of someone who frequently had to transcribe messages for other people, the florist had written it for someone else. She opened the small white envelope and pulled the card from it.

**_Deputy Swan-_**

**_I trust you find your new position satisfactory? If you have any concerns at all, my office is completely at your disposal. Call anytime._**

**_Mayor Regina Mills_**

Emma grinned at the small card. Such an innocent and completely professional message, something that would never rouse suspicion when a florist was told to transcribe it. But the blonde could read between the lines. She picked up the receiver on the edge of her desk, scanning the list of important numbers written on the base until she came to the one marked _City Hall_ and dialed. It was a call to the mayor's office, so Graham really couldn't claim she was making a personal call during business hours.

"You've reached City Hall, how may I direct your call?"

"The mayor's office please."

"One moment."

Emma grimaced as the hold music came on. _It's A Small World After All_. Had there ever been a more horrid invention than that song? Emma was convinced it was some secret covert torture device. Forget waterboarding, just put that song on repeat at Gitmo and after twelve hours the terrorists will tell you all you want to know.

Luckily she was spared too much agony when a moment later the secretary at Regina's front desk answered. "Mayor Mills' desk."

"Yes, um, this is Deputy Emma Swan. Is Re... Mayor Mills available."

"Oh, Deputy, she's been expecting your call. Let me put you through. Hold just one moment please."

Emma cringed as she thought of having to endure another round with the hold music, but luckily this time she was greeted with a soft piece, an instrumental version of some song she couldn't recall, though she was sure she'd heard it somewhere before. She closed her eyes, raking through her memories to place the tune.

"Deputy Swan, how nice of you to call. I trust you received my delivery?"

Emma's eyes snapped open at the sound of the mayor's voice. She hadn't even noticed that the song had cut out and the line had been picked up. "If you're referring to the garden you sent me, yes, I did." She smiled as her eyes slid to the flowers. "They're beautiful Regina, thank you."

She could practically hear Regina's pleased smile. "I'm glad you like them." There was a pause. "You left without saying goodbye this morning. I hope I didn't do anything to make you feel unwelcome."

"No, of course not. I had to return home and get ready for my first day. I heard my boss' boss is a stickler for punctuality. Wouldn't do to piss her off." She grinned.

Regina chuckled. "No, it wouldn't. I heard she can be quite a handful when she's cross."

"Besides, if I hadn't left so abruptly, I wouldn't have these beautiful flowers on my desk, nor would I be enjoying this phone call right now."

"Well actually, the flowers do have an alternate purpose."

Emma's curiosity piqued. "Is that so? And what purpose might that be?"

"It occurred to me that I haven't properly courted you Miss Swan. Therefore, I hope you'll not only accept the flowers as a token of my affections, but that you will also accept my invitation to dinner this Friday night."

Emma couldn't believe her ears. "Are you asking me out on a date Madam Mayor? As in just the two of us?" She could hardly kept the incredulity from her voice.

There was an uncertain pause. "Yes, I am."

Emma smiled. "Well, seeing as I have no other pressing plans this Friday, I accept your invitation."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She wasn't expecting to see Mary Margaret home when she unlocked the door and walked into the flat at ten past one. She knew she had to get her flowers in some water if she had any hope of keeping them alive for more than a day. She'd never been particularly good with plants, but that had hardly been an issue before today.

"What are you doing home?" Her roommate automatically reached into the cupboard and removed another mug, pouring steaming hot tea into it.

Emma held up her bouquet. "A little welcome gift from the mayor's office. Thought it'd be best to get it in some fresh water."

Mary Margaret eyed the flowers for a long moment before nodding. She set down her tea. "I think I have a vase around here somewhere." She disappeared into the little first floor enclave that was her room. A couple minutes later she emerged victorious, clutching a vase with green and red apples painted on its glossy porcelain surface. "Found it."

Emma took the vase and walked into the kitchen. She filled it halfway with water and set it on the counter next to the sink while she grabbed the scissors and began to disassemble the bouquet to de-leaf it and cut the stems.

Mary Margaret sat on the opposite side on a stool and watched her work. The bouquet was beautiful, and big, much more grand than any of the usual stock selections she'd seen come out of the mayor's office before. Generally it was the typical fresh flower bouquets of daisies and baby's breath and other delicate flowers like that. This was a much more expensive selection of exotic flowers all in whites, the monotony of colourlessness broken throughout by the strategic placement of red roses. It screamed Regina. "She's really fond of you." She hadn't meant to speak the words aloud, but Emma's shocked expression told her she had.

"Yes, I suppose she is." She left it unsaid that the feeling was quite mutual.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma walked up the icy walkway towards the big white house. Regina had informed her that she couldn't get away for lunch and Emma decided it might be nice if she checked on Henry. She stepped up onto the stoop and for a long moment, she stared at the three golden numbers in front of her face. Should she knock? Should she just go in? It felt so weird standing on the stoop as if she were some acquaintance come to call, but then again, it wasn't her house and she she had no right to just waltz in uninvited. Better to be safe than sorry. She knocked quickly.

She heard footsteps approaching the door quickly before it was answered by a harried looking Katherine. The blonde's eyes flooded with relief the moment she saw the deputy standing on the stoop. "Thank goodness you're here. I was just about to call Regina but I'd hate to have her leave work."

Every nerve in Emma's body instantly went on alert. "What happened?"

Katherine looked towards the stairs. "He's been having nightmares all day. I took his temperature but he's not running a fever, and when I get him to calm down he says he's not feeling any worse than normal. But he keeps asking for you or Regina."

Emma was already pushing past Katherine and inside, rushing up the stairs towards the second floor. Her mind was on one thing. Henry. She was in his room a second later. He was asleep, but his face was a frown, twisted in some private agony. His hair was damp against his forehead. His duvet had been kicked down to his feet.

"He keeps kicking it off every time I tuck it up around him."

Emma glanced over her shoulder at Katherine. She grabbed the duvet and pulled it off, tossing it over the arm of the rocking chair. She grabbed the rocketship blanket from where it was folded in a laundry basket. "Regina washed it yesterday; she must have forgotten to put it back on the bed." She draped the white fuzzy blanket around him, tucking it in around his little shoulders, before she leaned down and placed a kiss on his temple. Instantly in response, his expression softened.

She ushered Katherine back out of the room and followed her, closing the door softly behind them.

Katherine stared at her oddly. "You really believe a blanket is going to change anything?"

Emma nodded. "Yes, actually I do." She started back down the hall to the stairs.

"Why?" Katherine was close on her heels.

"Because it was always able to soothe my so..." She caught herself just before she let too much slip. "Me."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Katherine was on her the moment she walked through the front door. "Emma Swan."

Regina raised an eyebrow at her best friend as she hung up her coat in the closet. "What about her?"

"She's upstairs in the family room watching a movie with Henry." Katherine looked at her cautiously, trying to gauge her mood.

Regina looked up towards the second floor. "She came over after work?"

"No, at lunch. Henry had been having nightmares all morning and she wouldn't leave him."

"He what?" Regina pushed past her and went to the stairs. "Why didn't you call me?"

Katherine shrugged. "I was about to when she arrived. She stopped them."

Regina froze, halfway up the stairs. She looked back down to the blonde. "She did?"

"Yea. She just changed his blanket and he slept for another three hours without any problems." Katherine seemed confused by the idea.

The edge of Regina's mouth quirked up in a small smile. "Thank you Katherine, for watching him. I'll deal with Miss Swan. Have a good night." She turned and finished heading up the stairs.

The door to the family room was part way open. She could see flashes of light, presumably from whatever was playing on the television. She crept to the door and peeked in.

Emma sat on the couch, her blonde hair pulled up and back into a high ponytail. Henry sat curled up on her lap, a throw resting over their legs. A juicebox was clutched in his little hand, his eyes glued to the television where Mary Poppins was playing, one of his favourites.

"Wouldn't it be great to have Mary Poppins as a nanny Emma?" Henry watched as Michael, followed closely by his sister Jane, were sucked up the Banks' chimney.

Emma smiled. "When I first saw this movie, I was just around your age. I always thought it would be terribly sad to have her as a nanny."

"Why? She knows _magic_." Henry seemed puzzled by someone not wanting magic in their life.

"Because, no matter how many times you watch it, and no matter how happy she seems with the children, she always leaves in the end. She stays until she's no longer needed and then she goes. I always liked the idea of a mother much better. Someone who would love me and would always be there." A hint of sadness touched the blonde's smile, slowly causing it to fade. "Wouldn't you agree that your mom is better than Mary Poppins?"

Regina smiled as Henry nodded his head in agreement and took a sip from his juice. The little clear straw dropped from between his lips as he glanced over his shoulder at the blonde. "You're better than Mary Poppins too Emma. You even know magic like she does."

Emma smiled fondly down at the little boy, her fingers running through his hair. "Thanks kid."

Regina chose not to interrupt, instead leaving them to her movie while she went back downstairs to start dinner.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma dabbed the tissue at her eyes as she walked downstairs and into the kitchen to get Henry a glass of water. She started when she saw Regina standing at the stove. She jumped back, letting out a surprised yelp. "I didn't know you were home."

Regina turned, a sarcastic quip poised on her tongue, but the second she caught sight of her red rimmed eyes, it dropped from her mind. She abandoned the pot on the stove to walk around the island. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Emma was confused for a moment until the feel of the wet tissue in her hand reminded her that she'd been crying. "Oh, it's just the movie we were watching. The end always gets to me."

"Mary Poppins?" Regina's arms were already wrapping around Emma's waist, pulling her in close.

Emma's brow furrowed. "How did you...?"

"I checked on you both when I got home. I didn't want to disturb your time together and I had to make dinner anyway." She kissed Emma's cheek softly. "Katherine told me you've been here all afternoon?" She pulled away reluctantly to check the pot on the stove.

"Yea. Henry was having nightmares again and I think Katherine got a little overwhelmed. She was going to call you, but I had decided to stop by at the end of my lunch to check in. I was already here and it was no big deal to stay."

Regina switched off the heat and turned to the cupboard, pulling out dishes. "You could have called me. I wasn't doing anything truly pressing." It was a lie and they both knew it.

"It was fine. There's two people at the station now, but there's only one of you. I can handle nightmares, lord knows I had enough of my own growing up."

Regina felt her heart crack just a little. She knew Emma wasn't searching for her sympathy; she'd probably balk at the idea of Regina pitying her in any way. But still, she was so broken. Regina wanted nothing more than to put back all her pieces, no matter how long that took.

"Should I go get His Highness for dinner?" Emma was already backing towards the door.

"Yes, please. It'll be ready in just a moment." Regina watched her retreat.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Thank you for washing the dishes. You didn't have to." Regina sauntered into the kitchen, holding their wine glasses, which had been refilled.

Emma shrugged, taking her glass from the brunette. She leaned back against the island. "It's the least I could do." She took a long sip of wine.

Regina set down her wine glass. She had an idea she'd been mulling over during the course of the evening, ever since she'd seen her son and the blonde sitting together in the family room. She took a deep breath. "Miss Swan... Emma, I have a proposition for you."

Emma took another sip, set down her glass beside the brunette's and crossed her arms across her chest. This sounded serious. "Okay, shoot."

"I would like to hire you."

Emma's brow furrowed. "I, uh, thought you already had?"

"Yes, as the deputy. But I'd like you to be Henry's nanny."

"His what?" Well that was completely unexpected.

"The station doesn't see much traffic; I warned you of that when I hired you. I was thinking that perhaps you could work half the day, say 8 to 1, and instead of taking your lunch and then returning to finish your shift until 5, you'd just come here. It would allow you to keep your job at the station and spend more time with Henry." She met the blonde's eyes. "He likes spending time with you so much Emma, and I know you can take care of him. Katherine's wonderful but she gets overwhelmed so easily and she panics. You stay calm. Henry needs that and it would give me peace of mind. I know it's asking a lot but..."

"Yes."

Regina paused. "What did you say?"

"I said yes." Emma grabbed her glass and took a smaller sip from it. "I'd love to watch Henry."

Regina smiled, letting out a huge breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. "Wonderful. Henry will be so thrilled." She grabbed her own glass with a hand that was still slightly shaky and took a drink. "One more thing if I may?"

Emma regarded her with an open expression and a quick nod.

"I'd like you to be a live-in." It was pressing the issue, she knew it before the words even left her mouth. They'd been making excellent progress and she didn't want to rock the boat, but her desire to have the blonde near her all the time was quickly surmounting all her better judgment.

Emma let out a breath. She turned and walked out of the kitchen, taking her wine with her.

Regina followed, silently cursing herself. Had she just ruined the whole thing by pushing Emma a step to far?

The blonde fell onto the couch in the living room. She stared out the front window, silent for a long moment.

Regina sat cautiously on the opposite end. "Listen Emma, if you don't want to, I completely understand. I just thought it might be easier. Some days I leave for work at half past six and I hate having to call Katherine in early. But..."

"Okay."

Regina felt her heart leap into her throat. Had she heard that correctly?

Emma nodded as if she was confirming her decision to herself before she met Regina's eyes. "I'll do it, but there are conditions."

"Of course."

"I get to go back to Mary Margaret's on Friday nights to return on Monday afternoon after my shift at the station. You're home on weekends so there's really no need for me to be here."

Regina bit her tongue to keep from mentioning that she always needed the blonde here. Instead she nodded. "Understood." She sipped her wine. "You said conditions, plural. Is there more?"

"One more." Emma took a deep breath. "I sleep in the guest room when I'm here."

Regina couldn't stop the hurt look that touched her features before she managed to hide it under her normal stoic disguise. But she wasn't fast enough; Emma caught it.

"It's not what you think. I love sleeping with you Regina. But I don't want to confuse Henry until we... until we're sure we..."

Regina held up a hand to stop the blonde. "I understand. And I agree." She set her glass on the coffee table and slid over to Emma's side, leaning in and kissing the blonde's lips softly. She was confident she'd break the blonde's resolve quickly. She had no intention of letting Miss Swan keep living at Mary Margaret's for long, and even less intention of sleeping without the woman when she was only a few doors down the hall. She'd get her way somehow. She always managed to.


	14. Do You Have Any Seahorses?

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: thank you for all the well wishes. you guys are wonderful.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 14: Do You Have Any Seahorses?**

Mary Margaret stared at the large trash bag of clothes, the vase of flowers and the sealed box that Emma had set near the door before trudging back to the kitchen to grab herself a banana. "So... that was fast."

Emma raised an eyebrow as she slid onto a stool and began to peel her banana. "What was fast?"

Mary Margaret pointed to the items by the door. "It didn't take long for her to convince you to move in." She tried to hide her disappointment. She really liked having a roommate; it was refreshing not being so alone all the time.

Emma took a bite of banana and glanced back at the stuff as she swallowed. "I'm not moving in, not completely anyway. Just four nights a week so I can watch Henry. I've negotiated weekends to myself that I will be spending in the room I'm actually paying rent for." She took another bite of banana. "Besides, I'm staying in the guest bedroom. It's not like it means anything; I'm an employee."

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes as she finished the last of her tea and washed the cup out in the sink. "Keep telling yourself that lie and you might actually begin to believe it."

Emma frowned petulantly. "I'm not lying. This is strictly a business arrangement."

"Yea, but a business arrangement becomes slightly less professional when you've seen the other person naked."

"Says the woman who woke up next to David Nolan, a very unclothed, very married David Nolan after a crazy night of drinking." Emma raised a challenging eyebrow.

Mary Margaret's cheeks coloured and she looked down at her hands in submission. "You're right. I have no room to talk. But I also am not the one who's in denial. At least I admit that I love David. Can you say the same about Regina?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Emma, you're here!" Henry slid across the hardwood as he ran in from the living room into the foyer, the fleece feet of his pajamas having a serious lack of traction on the polished floor.

Emma grinned as she closed the door. She set down the box from her closet and the bag of clothes in the lower part of the foyer and the vase on the foyer table, walking up the four short steps to the elevated half. "Hey kid." She scooped him up.

He wrapped his small arms around her neck and hugged her hard. "Miss Nolan and I have been playing Go Fish."

Emma carried him back into the living room, where Katherine sat crossed legged on the couch, shuffling a colourful deck of cards with pictures of cartoonish sea creatures on them. She sat down on the cushion on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, where she assumed Henry had previously sat. He adjusted himself until he was sitting in her lap like he had been when they were watching the movie last night.

"Miss Nolan's really good at Go Fish. She almost always wins."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "She does, does she? Well we'll just see about that." She looked at Katherine, playfully narrowing her eyes. "Deal us in."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina was pleased to see Emma's car parked in front of the hedge gate when she pulled onto Mifflin. She quickly pulled up the driveway and into the garage. This was their first night truly all together, where Emma wasn't merely their guest but a member of their household. Henry had been over the moon when she'd told him that morning, hugging her as fiercely as his minimal strength would allow and chattering about how Operation Cobra was proving to be a success so far.

She had squared everything away with Graham over the phone. He had agreed easily enough to the arrangement; he knew his place. Besides, the station never saw much action beyond Leroy's constant string of drunk and disorderlies and the occasional accident here and there. She kept her town in complete working order and the crime rate was nearly non-existent. The deputy position had always been slightly more provisional than truly necessary.

She came out the side door of the garage and up the side walk to the front door. What she assumed were Emma's possessions were stacked just inside the door. She eyed them curiously. Why hadn't the blonde taken them upstairs yet? It was after six; she should have been here for at least four hours, if not longer.

She heard Henry's delighted giggle from the living room and followed the sound, setting her purse and car keys on the foyer table. When she stepped into the living room, she was greeted by three people. Katherine and Emma only gave her an incline of recognition before returning to their game. Henry waved excitedly before his eyes shifted back to the hand Emma held up before both of them. "Do you have any Seahorses?"

A bummed look crossed Katherine's face and she handed over the card reluctantly. Emma pulled the pair and put it in her scoring pile. Henry took a sip through the straw of his juicebox. He held it over his head and Emma leaned in without looking and took a sip. Henry put it back on the table. Their eyes never left the cards.

Regina shook her head with a smile and returned to the foyer, pulling off her coat and hanging it in the coat closet. She grabbed Emma's box and bag and carried them upstairs, depositing them on the bed in the guest bedroom. Then she made her way down the hall to her own room to change.

She had just unbuttoned her shirt and was pulling it off when the knock came. "Come in."

Emma peeked her head around the door and stepped in. If she had any adverse reaction to seeing Regina standing there in her bra and slacks, she didn't let it show. She closed the door behind her. "How was work?"

Regina undid the fly on her slacks. "The usual." She pushed the slacks over her hips and the curve of her ass and gravity did the rest, pulling them down to pool on the floor. "I brought home a surprise for you and Henry. The bag's in the trunk. I'll grab it after dinner."

"Speaking of dinner, I already started it. Henry finally has somewhat of an appetite. He was asking for pizza. I know the bread is a no-go right now, so I'm making a small one for him out of a tortilla. I don't know how it'll go over, but I thought he deserved to indulge a little after the past couple weeks."

Regina stepped up to the blonde, wrapping her arms around her neck. "You should be careful. I may become accustomed to all the royal treatment and then I may never want to do anything for myself ever again." She placed a soft kiss to Emma's lips.

Emma closed her eyes to ground herself; the proximity of the brunette was sending her senses into a frenzy. "I'd like to cook at night. You're working a full day; I'm not. It seems only fair that I help out in any way I can."

Regina placed gentle kisses along Emma's jaw. "You're not the maid, Miss Swan."

Emma smiled. "Of course not. I would be an awful maid anyway. I don't do floors and my laundry skills equate to that of the typical laundromat patron, since that's the only place I've ever washed clothes. But if you need to know how to rig a commercial sized washing machine, I'm your gal."

Regina chuckled and finally drew away from the blonde to slip into more comfortable clothing, or clothing of any kind for that matter. "Tell you what, you stick to the cooking and I'll do the laundry."

Emma followed the woman with her eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma adjusted the porcelain vase on top of her bare dresser as she tucked the clothes she'd brought over into the empty drawers. She couldn't help feeling like a child in the middle of a joint custody situation between divorced parents. She knew she should just pick one or the other, make life easier on everyone, but something was holding her back. She loved spending time with Henry, and she couldn't bear to turn down the brunette when she had suggested that she live-in. It really was ridiculous to go home every single night so late. This way, she'd be available to help Regina if there was an emergency. But on the other hand she couldn't bear to give up her freedom completely. She had little doubt that if she told Regina she'd just like to move in, that the brunette would agree and even allow her to live there rent free. It was a waste to pay rent to the schoolteacher when she wasn't even living there three full days a week, but she needed a place to go, to feel like she wasn't tying herself down.

She closed the last drawer and bunched the empty trash bag up, tossing it on top to remember to throw it away later. She crossed back over to the bed where her box was waiting. She carried it over to the closet and set it inside on the empty floor next to the white Christmas box with the photo albums. She closed the door and turned to look at the empty room. She rested back against the closet, staring at the blank walls. It was impersonal, just how she normally liked things. Except this time, she didn't.

"Knock knock." Regina stood in the open door way, holding a large bag.

Emma gestured around. "All unpacked."

Regina gazed around the room, scrutinizing everything. Her face softened as her eyes found the vase of flowers. She set the bag flat on the bed and walked over to the arrangement, leaning in closely to smell their scent. "He was surprised when I called this in. It's not my usual order."

"Yea, Mary Margaret accused me of receiving special treatment."

Regina turned back to Emma, a soft smile on her face. "Something special should be treated as such."

Emma blushed, looking down at her feet for a moment. When she looked back up, she was once again composed. "So, what's in the bag?"

Regina walked back over to the bag on the bed. "I didn't know you'd be living here at the time, but it seems a fitting welcome home present." She pulled out a large frame. Positioned inside was the completed New York puzzle that Emma and Henry had done together.

Emma stepped up, taking it from Regina's hands and holding it out in front of her so she could get a good look at it. "You got it framed?"

Regina nodded. "It was something special, for all of us. I thought it might be nice to keep the memory around, of the first thing we did as a family."

Emma stared past the frame at Regina for what seemed like several drawn out seconds before she gently set the frame back down on the bed. She grabbed Regina's hand and drew the brunette to her, pulling her close until their bodies were pressed against one another. She lifted the brunette up to sit on the dresser next to the vase. Her hands slid up and down the brunette's thighs as she hungrily attacked her neck.

"Emma." It was a breathy whisper as it escaped the brunette's lips. She tangled her fingers in the golden hair of the younger woman. "Henry's not asleep yet. We have to stop now." Despite her protests, she didn't try and push Emma away, instead wrapping her legs around the blonde's waist and drawing her against her body.

Emma pulled back almost reluctantly. "You're right. We shouldn't do this now." She stole another kiss, taking advantage of the surprise to skim her tongue gently through Regina's mouth before she was pulling back again. She lifted the brunette off her dresser, setting her back down. "I should go slice the pizzas."

Regina watched her go. She had no room to object. Henry was awake and waiting downstairs. The homemade pizzas were cooling on racks in the kitchen waiting to be sliced for dinner. It would have to wait. She closed her eyes and forced away the ache between her thighs. Soon. She would have Miss Swan _soon_.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"But I want to stay up with you and Momma." Henry pouted in her arms as she carried him upstairs, Regina following closely behind.

"Nice try, but it's already an hour past your bedtime." Emma marched into his room and laid him down on the bed. He'd been stalling all night. She should have known something was up when he'd been excited for his cloth bath. Regina had looked at her in shock as if he never got any joy out of being bathed with a wash cloth. Turns out he didn't. He'd taken extra long to eat his two slivers of his specially made pizza. He'd insisted on having Regina detail her entire day and then had begged the same of Emma, despite the fact that she had spent most of it with him. But he was desperate to try anything that would allow him to stay up.

He tried giving her the puppy dog eyes, but she was resolute. "We'll both be here in the morning and I'll be with you all afternoon tomorrow. They're will be plenty of time to have fun together then. Besides," she tapped the end of his nose, "I'm just going right to bed after this. I'm beat. Don't tell me you want to stay up to watch me sleep." She tucked the rocketship blanket up around his little body.

"Will you tell me a story Emma?"

Emma nodded. "Now that, I can do."

Henry moved over to make room for her and she sat on the bed with her back against the headboard. Regina leaned against the doorframe to listen.

Emma tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see." Might as well put her odd dreams she'd been having to good use. "Once upon a time there were two kingdoms, run by two royal families. These families had history with one another and were at war. In one, a proud King and Queen, in the other, a lonely Queen, left to rule alone. And in the middle of this war was a Princess..."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma checked the doors and windows before turning off all the lights on the ground floor. Henry was asleep and Regina had gone to bed. It was time for her to do the same. She had a big day tomorrow. Friday loomed ahead of her, her date with Regina right on the horizon. She needed to be well rested.

She looked down the hall to the left, to Henry's closed door and around the curve in the hall to Regina's closed bedroom door. Both were dark under the door, no lights on inside. They were already off to dreamland. She turned right and went down to her own room.

When she opened the door she was surprised to find the light was already on though she could have sworn she'd left it off when she'd gone down to dinner earlier. She closed the door.

"Took you long enough darling; I thought you'd gotten lost."

She smiled at the playfully teasing voice. She should have known it wouldn't be this simple. She turned to the bed, where Regina was lying in one side, her arms crossed across her chest, a delicately arched eyebrow raised.

Emma pulled a pair of flannel pajama pants from a drawer. "I believe it is you who've gotten lost Madam Mayor; your room happens to be a few doors down at the end of the hall." She slid her jeans down her legs, kicking them off and away.

Regina's eyes were wide and watching her every move. "Miss Swan, our agreement was simply that you would not sleep in my bed; it said nothing about me sleeping in yours." Her hands fisted in the duvet at the sight as Emma turned around, exposing her backside to the brunette's gaze.

Emma pulled a new shirt from the drawer. Normally she slept topless, but she wouldn't be doing that tonight, not while Regina was sharing her bed. She pulled her sweater up and off, followed closely by her shirt, and finally her bra.

Regina's mouth was dry as she watched the muscles in the blonde's back ripple. She imagined dragging her fingernails along the delicious expanse of back, of settling her hands along that firm backside and pulling the woman tightly against her. But Miss Swan was quickly dressing, leaving it up to her imagination with no hope of satisfaction tonight.

As if reading her thoughts, Emma turned and gave her a stern look. "If you insist upon leaving your bed to spend the night in mine, I won't stop you, but there will be no inappropriateness tonight. I need my beauty sleep." Her face lost its hardness and she grinned playfully. "See I have this date tomorrow night, with the mayor, and it's kinda a big deal."

Regina nodded. "Oh yes, I see. Well we must make sure you get a full night's rest then. I heard she has big things planned." She settled down onto the pillow, smiling at Emma as the blonde turned the light off.

Emma walked back over to the right side of the bed and slipped in, turning her back to the brunette and closing her eyes.

Regina had heard 'no inappropriateness', not 'no touching at all'. She reached out and pulled the blonde woman back across the bed and against her body. She draped her arm over the woman's hip, her hand sliding just under the woman's shirt, absentmindedly stroking the bare flesh of the woman's abdomen.

Emma tensed, her hand stopping the brunette's. She withdrew it from her shirt and Regina feared she would push her away. Instead Emma pulled it more tightly around her and snuggled back against the brunette.

Regina smiled, nuzzling the back of the blonde's neck as she finally let her eyes drop closed.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"I need Henry's overnight bag packed by the time I get home."

Emma nodded. "Is he going somewhere?"

Regina smiled, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "He's spending the night at Katherine's."

"Is that so?" Emma raised an eyebrow. This was the first she'd heard of this. She pulled her hair up into its long golden ponytail, wrapping the hair tie that had been around her wrist around it and then figure eighting it until it was tight.

Regina met the eyes of her reflection in her bathroom mirror. "I'm not sure how late our night will run and I didn't want Katherine to be stuck here overly late."

Emma grinned. "Aren't you being overly presumptuous Mayor Mills? What if I have a curfew?" She batted her eyes innocently.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Oh please, like you'd even obey it if you did."

"Touche." Emma turned around, leaning back against the bathroom counter, her arms crossed across her chest. "Still not going to tell me where you're taking me?"

Regina bit her bottom lip and shook her head back and forth. "It's a surprise."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma went through her meager selection of clothes for what seemed to be the billionth time in the last half hour. It had never really been an issue before. When she was younger, she'd never really had a say in how she dressed. As a child in the group home, she got the older kid's hand me downs. Then, at her foster homes, her foster parents had shopped for her. Lillian had been the only one to ever give her any input into what she wore. She had believed in a child's freedom of expression. Then, when she ran away, she bought what was cheap. That's what started her love of A shirts, more commonly known as wife beaters, though she hated the term. She could buy a five pack at Wal-Mart for thirteen bucks and they would last her for quite some time. By the time she had enough money to spare on frivolous things like clothes, she was already so set on going for comfortable that her 'fancy' clothes consisted of two dresses that she wore on dates when she was trying to corner a male mark.

Regina deserved more than those dresses, and she certainly deserved more than Emma's everyday selections. This wasn't a night at home; it was a date, a real one. She hadn't been on a date in... as long as she could remember. Not since... She closed her eyes. She didn't like to think of that brief period of time when she'd been too stupid to tell the difference between love and an adrenaline rush.

"Having trouble?"

Emma whirled around at the sound of her roommate's voice. Mary Margaret stood in the bedroom door, peering in at the mess Emma had made of the small bed. Clothes from the closet were strewn haphazardly across it.

After Katherine had shown up to Regina's for Henry and agreed to wait with him until Regina got home from work, as they'd originally planned, she'd returned to Mary Margaret's flat, where she'd left half of her everyday clothes and the two date dresses. But now, as she stood there staring at the entirety of her wardrobe, she felt a serious panic setting in. For the first time in her life, Emma found herself with nothing adequate to wear.

"Nothing is good enough. I'm going on a date. With _Regina Mills_." She collapsed onto her bed amidst the discarded clothes with a sigh.

Mary Margaret had heard Emma tossing things around up here for nearly forty five minutes searching for something to wear. Her hair and subtle make up looked fabulous, but they were in stark contrast to the towel she still wore wrapped around her from the shower she'd taken over an hour ago. "I think I may have something. Come on."

Emma followed the schoolteacher back downstairs and into her room on the first floor. She sat on the bed when Mary Margaret pointed to it and watched as the brunette dug through her closet. After a few long drawn out moments, she emerged holding a green satin dress. "Ruby bought this for me a few years ago, back when she was on this campaign to find me a man. I was never meant to wear something so... **this**. A point that was made clear when the only thing I managed to snag was Dr. Whale."

Emma had never met the good doctor herself; his hours at the hospital were too long that he was hardly seen out except at night, and she'd spent every night indoors with the mayor and her son. But she had heard plenty about him from the town's citizens and he was known for being quite the sleaze. She couldn't imagine poor Mary Margaret, soft spoken as she was, having to fend off anyone in town, let alone someone like that.

She took the dark green dress, holding it up to her figure in front of the mirror. The colour was beautiful. It would certainly make her eyes pop. The length was appropriate, ending just above the knee. It was strapless which would work to her advantage. It would do. She hugged Mary Margaret. "Thank you. You're a lifesaver."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina pulled her coat tighter around herself as she got out of the Mercedes. The snow crunched underneath her heeled boots as she walked over to the front door of the small stone building. She climbed the stairs to the second floor, hesitating a second to take a deep breath before she knocked.

Mary Margaret Blanchard opened the door with a smile. "Mayor Mills, come in. Emma should be down in just a second."

Regina slowly stepped into the flat, watching as the schoolteacher closed the door behind her.

"So, when will you have her back by?"

Regina suddenly felt like she was the young suitor on prom night, come to take the prettiest girl at Storybrooke High to the dance and this was the awkward moment before the daughter came down where the parent was drilling her about her intentions with her daughter. Although- a smirk crept onto Regina's face at the thought- her intentions with Miss Swan were very far from pure. "Don't expect Miss Swan back until very late. You shouldn't wait up."

"Regina."

The brunette whipped around to face the stairs where a heeled foot was just touching down into her line of sight. The black pumps gave way to a expanse of bare calf and slowly satin, a deep hunter green in colour, was revealed to her. Finally, Emma's smiling face came into view, her hair left down, but pinned gently back away from her face and shoulders so that the strapless effect of the dress wouldn't be diminished. The make up on her face was light, just a sweep of brown eyeliner and mascara to highlight her green eyes. She tried to hide her smirk when she saw that a coat of make up had been applied to the mark she'd left on the pale flesh of the blonde's neck. It was already fading of its own accord, but the make up almost concealed it completely from view.

Regina felt all the breath leave her lungs. Emma was so beautiful. "Emma." She had to fight the urge to go to the blonde. Their intimate moments were not something she wished to include Miss Blanchard in yet. She'd heard the rumours around town, the small whispers speculating on the nature of the relationship between her and Emma. Soon enough, those rumours would come to light as being true, but not until she was sure the blonde wanted something more, wanted to be more than they were. It certainly wouldn't do for the mayor to be having a frivolous fling with a woman she brought into town. No, if they wanted it to be public, then it had to be something more solid first.

Emma pointed to the couch, where a wool coat was draped over the arm of the sofa. "Just let me put on my coat. I'm sure it's freezing out there."

Regina grabbed the coat, holding it open. "Allow me."

Emma paused a moment before she turned her back to the brunette and allowed the woman to help her slide the black wool coat up and on. "Thank you." She turned back to Regina, looking at the brunette as if she were the only person in the room.

Regina stroked her fingers along the back of the blonde's nearest hand. "You ready to go?"

Emma nodded.

Mary Margaret cleared her throat, finally earning her Emma's attention and an annoyed glare from Regina.

"I'll be back sometime late, possibly tomorrow."

The schoolteacher nodded and raised a hand in farewell. "Have a good time."

Regina didn't let them chat anymore. She grabbed Emma's hand and led her to the door, anxious to be alone with the blonde. She didn't feel like lingering and making social niceties with anyone, least of all Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Emma couldn't keep the smile off her face at Regina's take charge attitude. She had just enough time to through a mouthed goodbye over her shoulder before the mayor had her out of the flat and was leading her down the stairs. Her hand felt good cradled in the warmth of Regina's. Their fingers had entwined naturally of their own volition. The brunette didn't release her grip until they were standing beside the Mercedes. Regina dropped it to open the door for her and she slid in with a smile. Good to know chivalry wasn't dead.

Regina walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat. "You ready?"

Emma nodded shyly. Her first real date. She couldn't really count her times with _him_, though he'd called them dates. This was something different, something important and special, a night to be appreciated and remembered. It meant more than any of his spontaneous little 'dates' ever had.

Regina reached out, stroking the back of one finger down the blonde's cheek before she put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. She drove the two turns to Main, and then, much to Emma's surprise, she turned right and began to head out of town.

"You're driving me out of town on a road surrounded by nothing but wilderness... should I be afraid?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "This is the way back to the interstate if you remember correctly Miss Swan."

Emma shrugged and looked out her window. "I'm sure that's what all the serial killers say."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It had been a long time since Emma had been in Portland. It was a place of her past, a place that held many lessons learned, but also more bad memories than good. Her hopes had died here, her dreams and beliefs in the existence of fairytales. She had learned disappointment, hurt, and pain here. In short, she had learned the truth. And she'd been running from it ever since.

She stared down the streets as they drove past, her mind going back to days when she was young and still believed there was something out there waiting for her, some greater destiny than the nomad's life she'd ended up with. They drove past places she hadn't seen in years, memories that were over a decade old but as she saw the places of her childhood now, it seemed only yesterday.

"You're quiet." Regina glanced over from the driver's seat, before turning back to the icy roads. Emma had barely said anything to her since they'd reached the interstate. She had thought it would be good for the blonde to get away from the small town life for a night. She knew it couldn't be easy for her, someone who had lived most of her life around buildings over five stories tall to spend day after day in the confines of their little sleepy hideaway. But she had never really pegged Emma as being the silent type.

"I'm remembering." Emma's voice was flat, leaving it open to interpretation whether she was happy or saddened by that fact.

"Tell me?"

For several long moments and more than a couple blocks, Emma remained silent. Finally, she sighed. "There, that building on the corner there. That used to be this small shop called _Ye Old Towne Gift Shoppe_. The owner, Roberta, used to make these bars of clear soap with all these different shapes in the middle, anything from bright orange tigers to beautiful purple castles. They were only two bucks a bar, but we never had any money. Still, she'd use them like currency, having us run errands for her after school, and she'd pay us in those bars of soap." It was some corner drug store now, the windows holding no traces of the floral hand-painted signs Roberta used to put up in the windows, advertising her homemade products. She could still remember the last bar of soap she'd ever received. It had contained a muti-coloured carousel horse, made specially for her by the robust kind-faced woman in her sixties, whom Emma had adored. She'd even took Emma back to the back of her shop once, showing her where she made all her wares. Emma had always thought of that place as somehow magical, back when she still believed in stuff like that. That one bar of soap, a going away present for when she'd finally left Portland for good, had stayed with her for a long time. But eventually, like most things she cherished in life, it began to fade, the clear crystal of the soap had begun to cloud over with the passing of time, the colours of that carousel horse dulling with age, until she'd had to toss it out. Just more evidence that even good things ended in loss.

The sadness in Emma's eyes as she turned back to the window did not escape Regina's notice. She reached over and squeezed the blonde's hand, resting on her lap, earning herself a small smile from the blonde, as Emma's green eyes turned back to her. "You look so beautiful tonight Emma." That earned her a genuine smile. She returned her hand to the wheel to make a turn at the next stoplight.

Emma's eyes didn't return back to the window. For the first time since she'd gotten in the car, she truly focused on the woman beside her. Regina's hair was its perfectly coifed self, her make up done a little darker than usual, but not drastically so. Her coat blocked her dress from Emma's view, but she wore black heeled boots that ended just below her knee, mere inches from where her coat ended, exposing her bare knee and just the smallest hint of thigh. Even with the bulky trench coat, she looked stunning. Without a second thought, she leaned across the distance between them and kissed Regina gently on the cheek. "I love it so much when I'm with you."

"Love what?" Regina felt the tingle where the blonde's lips had just been pressed against her skin.

Emma smiled. "Life."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: so i promised myself that if i reached 25 reviews on the last chapter i would post again tonight. i still have several updates that just need to be typed up, so maybe reviews would make me type faster? *shrugs innocently* why don't you review and find out? :)


	15. Lucky Number Seven

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: a present for you all to celebrate last night's new episode. well my lovelies, this is what most, if not all, of you have been waiting for. this fic will now happily earn its M rating. our ladies are about to take their relationship to the next level. i think this chapter is actually one of my better written ones so i hope you thoroughly enjoy it. big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and welcomed me back, i appreciate it, you guys are all awesome and i'm completely humbled by all your words, they mean so much to me. without further ado...

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 15: Lucky Number Seven**

The restaurant was tucked away down by the harbour, low key and high end. Emma had never in her life been to a restaurant where you didn't park your own car or where you left your coat with someone at the door. But Regina seemed very in her element with the upscale environment. She expertly dropped the keys to the Mercedes into the waiting hand of the valet, slipping her hand into Emma's and drawing her towards the door of the restaurant where a man in pressed black slacks and a gold vest and tie opened the door for them. When they stopped at the podium and Emma felt a tug on her coat, she immediately pulled away, whirling on the would-be thief, but Regina squeezed her hand in assurance and nodded. Emma let the man, also in gold vest and tie take her coat from her. She watched him take it into the long walk in closet behind the podium with suspicious eyes. When he returned, he mimicked the action with Regina's coat, slipping it from her shoulders and carrying it off.

Emma got her first good look at Regina's dress and her jaw dropped. The brunette was wearing a tight fitting royal purple dress that ended three quarters of the way down her thigh. It hugged every curve tightly, giving her body a more lush appearance than Emma had ever noticed before. The deep v neckline plunged down through the valley between her breasts. Emma had never thought the mayor would wear something so sensual in public, let alone that she even owned something of that nature.

Regina was pleased with the blonde's reaction. She had expected surprise, this wasn't her typical attire to be sure, but Emma gave her much more than surprise. The blonde stared at her with undisguised desire, a lust so potent that Regina was sure the coat clerk could feel it in the air. She held out her hand.

Emma watched as her own hand shook like a leaf in the breeze as she put it in Regina's. She was calmed by the woman's confidence. She still felt like she was a sheep walking in the midst of a pack of wolves. This was the group of popular kids that would have eaten her alive in high school for her secondhand clothes and her dirty converse sneakers. But Regina was her way in, that one person who says you're cool and everyone else just follows suit. She was cool by association. She stood a little taller, trying not to seem as out of place as she felt.

The hostess gave them a brilliant smile. "Good evening, ladies. Name?"

Regina squeezed Emma's hand softly. "Mills."

The hostess scanned down the list of names on the podium in front of her. "Mills, party of two. If you'll just follow me, you're table is right this way." The woman led them through the crowded restaurant.

The lighting was dim and intimate, coming from crystal chandeliers ten feet overhead and from candles placed strategically on tables. The servers flitted about in the same vest and tie that had been on every employee she had seen so far. The patrons were all dressed elegantly and Emma sent out a silent thought of gratitude to her roommate for the last minute wardrobe help; there was no way either of her date dresses were appropriate for a place like this. She would have stuck out even worse than she did now.

Their table ended up being on a fairly secluded covered terrace at the back of the restaurant. The tables were spaced farther apart than in the main room to allow for privacy and none looked big enough to accommodate more than two people. The walls and ceiling were entirely made of glass, leaving guests to enjoy an unobstructed view of the harbour and the dark waters stretching beyond the lights of the city and out into the dark horizon. It was beautiful.

The hostess held out Emma's seat for her and she smiled in thanks as she took it. Regina mirrored the action with a quick word of gratitude.

The second the hostess had left them Emma looked around like a kid walking into a department store for the first time. A sense of being infinitely overwhelmed filled her.

"The chef here is famous for his vegetarian dishes." Regina browsed the wine list, her eyes scanning through the selections quickly.

Emma looked down at the menu. It was unlike any she had ever encountered. It certainly wasn't _Applebees_. It was bound in real leather and she opened it to find thick paper with items written in an elegant script. Nothing had a price listed. She couldn't remember where she'd heard the tidbit of advice, but a faceless voice from her past whispered that if you had to ask the price you couldn't afford it. She was lost in her thoughts, trying to figure out how much money was in her account when she felt the hand on her arm, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked up at Regina. "Hmm?"

Regina offered her a secret smile as if they were enjoying some private joke. "I could order for you, if you'd like."

Emma released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and gave a grateful nod.

As if he'd been telepathically summoned, their server, a tall thin stick of a man named Parker, appeared next to their table. He took the order in its entirety from Regina and didn't seem the least bit fazed. It occurred to Emma that there were probably men in here all the time, controlling types, who ordered in that fashion often.

She felt herself relax a little more as he took his leave. There was no more pressure. Now it was only her and Regina, and that thought was the most comforting she'd had since they arrived.

Regina seemed to sense her relief. She reached across the table, her fingers threading effortlessly through Emma's. "Thank you, for coming with me tonight. Sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to get away from it all."

Emma stared at their clasped hands with a soft smile. "Believe me, I know the feeling better than most." It was the complete truth. If there was one thing, above all else, that Emma Swan knew she was a pro at, it was running from her troubles. "It amazes me how strong you are. I see the strength you have and I get envious."

"I wish I felt as strong as you seem to thing I am. Most days I feel as if I'm a second away from crumbling completely."

Emma smiled. "But that's exactly what makes you so strong. You know that you're just one second ahead, it's nipping right at your heels, and yet you keep moving anyway. That's strength. Do you know how many people would just give in?"

Regina gave her a grateful smile just as their server returned with wine glasses and their selection. He knew enough to know that the woman who'd ordered the wine was probably more of a wine connoisseur than the blonde in the borrowed dress, so he poured a little into her glass. She picked up the glass with her free hand and swirled the liquid around in the crystal before giving it an exploratory sip. She set down the glass with a nearly imperceptible nod and he finished pouring hers and then Emma's before disappearing back the way he'd came, all with nary a word.

Regina stared at their hands, the contrast of her bronzed skin against the pale fairness of the blonde's. She loved Emma's hands. They were strong for a twenty three year old's hands; they'd seen strife and hard labour. But there was also something about them that was gentle, fragile despite their strength, just like the woman they belonged to. Sometimes she felt them shake when she held them, as if they were innately afraid of both being held and of being let go.

"You know, when Henry came into my life, I was in a place where I honestly believed my heart had sealed itself off, that it had steeled over and it would never let anyone in again. But he looked up at me with the most brilliant green eyes and he smiled and I knew that I had been wrong for all those years." She met Emma's eyes. "Sometimes you don't realise you need something until it's right there in front of you."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Remind me to let you order for me more often." Emma dug into her third stuffed mushroom. It was quite possibly the best thing she'd ever tasted, apart from cheesecake of course, and she was in heaven.

Regina, who'd reluctantly let go of her hand only once the food was delivered, hummed her agreement. "I told you the food was to die for."

Emma watched the delicate rise and fall of her throat as she swallowed, following it quickly with a sip of her wine. Her tongue darted out from between her lips to slide delicately across her bottom lip before disappearing back into her mouth.

Regina could feel the blonde's eyes watching her but she tried not to make herself care. Her confidence had been riding high all night and she wasn't about to let petty insecurities lurking in the back of her mind ruin the atmosphere they'd created. She glanced up at the blonde through her lashes and Emma blushed, her eyes darting away as she realised she'd just been caught staring.

"Your dinner ladies." The server popped the atmosphere around like a needle to a balloon.

Emma stared down at the plate he set in front of her curiously, tilting her head to look at it from every angle. She'd never been to a place that put any real effort into plating. It looked appetizing though and she was pretty much open to anything. Regina's own dinner was something different, though it still appeared to be vegetarian. In fact, she couldn't remember seeing one meat dish listed on her brief scan of the menu. It hadn't occurred to her, but Regina had brought her to a vegetarian restaurant. She cared enough to know that Emma would have options of what to order. In that moment, this date meant more to her than it previously had. Regina Mills was so getting laid tonight if Emma had any say in the matter.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"It's so pretty, I almost don't want to eat it." Emma regarded the dessert in front of her like a work of art. She'd always held an appreciation for the beauty in things that most people overlooked. The raspberry chocolate masterpiece before her being one of them.

Regina shrugged. "Well I do." She scooped her spoon through the thick ice cream, sliding it through the chocolate and then the raspberry, before popping the spoon into her mouth. She drew it out slowly. Emma would have found the move greatly arousing if she still wasn't so scandalized that the brunette had just defiled the masterpiece.

"You have your own dessert." She batted away the brunette's spoon with her own as the woman tried to reach over and steal another bite.

Regina pouted. "What's the point of ordering for both of us if I can't sample yours too?"

Emma couldn't resist the pout. "Oh fine. But let me try a bite of yours." She reached over to Regina's plate, which was comprised of three separate chocolate creations, none of which looked like anything she'd ever eaten in her life. She attacked the light brown bubble-like thing, scooping some of it up onto her spoon. It appeared to be a mousse of some sort. Her eyes fluttered as it passed her lips and she was hit with the burst of flavour. Oh screw this, art must be sacrificed in the name of hunger. She tried some of her own dessert and was just as satisfied.

Regina smirked as Emma attacked the dessert with gusto. She was glad the blonde had enjoyed the food. She'd seen her eat more tonight than she'd seen her eat every other meal combined since they'd met. Emma was not a big eater. She picked at her food constantly, even when it was something she'd made and obviously liked. At first the brunette had assumed it was because of the move, but the more time they spent together, the more she believed that wasn't it. Her first instinct was to worry that the blonde wasn't getting adequate nutrition, but she seemed healthy and happy, fit as could be. She really couldn't object. Not when the blonde seemed fine. But it was good to see that she could have an appetite under the right circumstances.

The blonde dropped her spoon to the dish in surrender. "No more. I'll die if I eat another bite. But it's _so good_." She made a move to pick up the spoon again, but talked herself out of it. She really was well past her normal limit.

Parker was lurking in the wings over behind Emma. Regina met his eyes and gave an almost imperceptible nod. He came forward, carrying their bill, setting it into the brunette's hand as she held it out for the cheque.

Emma grabbed the small purse she'd brought with her, digging around for the lonely credit card she possessed. She'd never used it in the three years she'd had it, but there was a first time for everything, and she knew there was no way she had enough in her bank account to cover even half of what dinner must have cost.

Regina reached over, a hand covering Emma's arm to halt her search. "It's my treat." She held up the leather folder with her free hand and Parker walked by, snagging it on his way past, not even pausing for a moment.

Emma closed her purse, a light blush colouring her cheeks. She wasn't accustomed to being taken care of. But she had to admit that it did feel nice.

Parker reappeared and Regina signed her name on the dotted line. She glanced up at the blonde. "You ready?"

It felt like such a loaded question to Emma. Of course Regina was only asking her if she was ready to leave the restaurant. But to her it was so much more. It was asking her if she was ready to be together, if she was ready to actually try this, to let someone in, to consider staying in one place longer than twenty six weeks. "Yes Regina, I'm ready."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Flakes tickled her nose as they stepped out into the cold night air. She looked up to the sky to see little flurries and flakes dancing about in the lights from the buildings. They waltzed across the wind, twisting this way and that as they weaved their way down out of the sky to the ground below. It seemed slightly magical.

"What are you thinking about?"

Emma couldn't tear her eyes away from the sky, even at Regina's whispered words. She hadn't even heard the brunette approach. "Honestly. I'm thinking about you, and tonight. How much I want to kiss you, how I want to do much more than that." She heard Regina's soft gasp beside her and knew that the woman hadn't been expecting that response.

Regina could barely contain her impatience now that Emma had given her a vocal confirmation of desire and intent. Where was that stupid valet? They were the only ones out here at this particular moment; how long did it take to retrieve a car?

As if in response the man came driving up. She held the door open for Emma as he slipped out of the driver's side and nearly ripped the keys from his hand, pushing a note into his hand in passing. She needed to get them out of here before Emma changed her mind or something interrupted them once again. She slid into the driver's seat, pausing just long enough to buckle herself in before she was pulling out into the late night traffic. "I know a wonderful hotel nearby. The suites are big and they have round the clock room service."

Emma shook her head. "No. Take me home Regina."

Regina felt her heart sink. It had only been a moment, what had changed? Had she misheard the blonde while they were standing there in the snow waiting for the car?

Emma saw Regina's face fall and quickly rushed to clarify. "I want our first time to be somewhere special. I can't think of anywhere more special than home. I want to share your bed with you tonight Regina."

Regina's foot pressed down hard on the accelerator.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The drive from Portland to Storybrooke had never taken so long, though Regina was certain she had probably set a land-speed record getting back home. Now that she knew Emma wanted her, that Emma had every intention of finally taking this little game of their's to the inevitable next step, she could think of nothing else. Lust clouded her every thought, begging to be satisfied. It didn't help that the blonde's hand had found its way to her thigh, resting there while the woman it belonged to watched the white world slipping by silently outside her passenger window. Her hand felt like fire to her skin, though truly it was resting atop her coat and the only thing she could actually feel was its gentle weight, but her mind told her it was burning her.

When she finally saw the sign on the outskirts of town that told them they were close to home, she expected to feel some relief. Instead her desire increased tenfold. She had half a mind to just pull over right where they were, pull the blonde into the spacious backseat and have her way with her. The only thing truly stopping her was that Emma had said she wanted their first time to be somewhere special. Her backseat was many things, but special wasn't one of them.

Again, she anticipated feeling a little reprieve when she pulled into the driveway beside her house. She could see their destination, but still there was little relief. It seemed there was only one cure for her needs, and it was sitting beside her.

She glanced over at she felt Emma's hand slip from her thigh. The blonde was staring at her with unreadable green eyes. For a moment she thought Emma might kiss her. As much as she craved the blonde's lips every moment of every day, she knew that she just wouldn't be able to control herself if it started here. Once they started, she wasn't confident in her ability to stop. But Emma seemed to understand. She offered up nothing more than a shy smile before she opened her door and slipped out into the frosty air. Regina immediately followed, her boots stomping through the fresh snow that covered the side walkway to the front door.

Her hand shook as she pressed the key into the lock and turned it. It seemed longer than usual before she felt the telltale jerk of the lock disengaging. She pushed the door open and stepped into the dark foyer, cursing herself for not leaving the low-lamps on for a little bit of light. The entire foyer was pitch black. She felt blindly around for the switch, her hand sliding along the wall until it finally found its mark and she was able to flip it. The chandelier above their heads throwing the room into perfect clarity.

Emma closed the door, flipping the deadbolt before she started to unbutton her coat.

Regina was thankful she'd at least remembered to leave the heat on; it was hard to create a seductive setting when the temperature was on its way to below freezing.

Emma hung up her own coat, tossing her small clutch onto the foyer table; she had a feeling she wouldn't be needing it again tonight. She held out a hand for Regina's coat.

Regina slowly worked her way down the buttons, revealing inch by inch the dress that had been the start of all inappropriate thoughts the blonde had been thinking all night. Once she'd slipped it off, she handed it to Emma, watching as the blonde hung it up and then closed the closet door softly. She extended her hand to the blonde in silent request.

Emma offered up the same shy smile before she placed her hand in Regina's, earning her a genuine smile from the brunette.

Regina turned, walking up the foyer steps and then turning to go up the stairs. "Nightcap?"

Emma shook her head. "Alcohol has this nasty habit of making me forget. I want to remember everything about this night, every single detail." With that, her lips found the brunette's, brushing against them softly.

Regina felt her control crumbling. She had to get them upstairs and into their bed before she broke completely. She pulled out of reach of those intoxicating lips, biting her own lower one as a physical reminder to fight the temptation. She started up the stairs, guiding the blonde up behind her. Every step seemed to be harder than the last, every cell in her body screaming out for the blonde. Was this what addiction felt like? To be so entirely dependent on something that your own body conspired against you whenever you put distance between yourself and that which you desire? She wasn't sure whether she should feel alarmed or overjoyed.

The last few steps were desirous agony, but she managed to finally step up onto the second floor landing, leading the way down the hall until she was faced with the familiar door, the one which she faced every night. It held new promise on this night. She pushed it open to reveal a room she'd seen thousands of times, but tonight it seemed she was facing someplace new.

Emma stepped in past the brunette, slipping out of her tiresome heels the second she was across the threshold. Dresses she could easily tolerate, heels she would never understand. She drew the four small pins from her hair, letting her golden curls finally fall forward around her shoulders, setting the pins aside on the bedside table. Then she looked at the brunette, who had just pushed the door closed behind them and was leaning back against it.

In the pale cascade of moonlight from the window, Emma's fair skin seemed illuminated, a glow about her that she missed in the light of day. Regina pushed away from the door, the click of her heeled boots against the hardwood, echoing throughout the room. She circled the blonde.

Emma stood still under the scrutiny. She'd been sized up before, most of her life really. Everyone was always scrutinizing her, trying to decide whether the poor street rat measured up to what they expected her to be. It wasn't her favourite feeling in the world, but it was one she was so used to she barely even felt it anymore.

Regina stopped in front of her a moment before she moved to the bed. Sitting down, she crossed her legs to get at the zipper of her right boot, drawing it down, revealing a smooth tan calf before she stopped at her ankle and pulled it off, tossing it aside. She crossed her legs the other way to repeat the process with the left boot. She stood once more, raising her hands to draw the dress off her shoulders, pulling her arms up from the sleeves. She rolled it down her body, over the curve of her hips and then letting it slide down her legs. She kicked it away once it pooled at her ankles.

Emma's mouth had long gone dry. She couldn't move, could barely even remember how to breathe. Regina stood before her, beside the bed, topless. It hadn't even registered in her brain earlier when she'd first seen the plunging neckline of the woman's dress that there had been a distinct lack of bra visible in the deep v. All that protected any part of her now was the swath of gray lace that covered her sex from view. Emma reached out a hand as if to touch the flawless skin, but quickly stopped herself from fully extending.

Regina, unwilling to lose any opportunity for contact, stepped forward into the touch. Her stomach collided with the blonde's hand, just below her left breast. "I want you to touch me Emma."

Emma watched her fingertips move over the bare expanse of the brunette's stomach, tracing the gently rippling muscles just underneath the surface of her skin. Slowly, they moved up, delicately stroking across the underside of Regina's left breast, causing the brunette's eyes to flutter. Her other hand came up to join the fray, running up the curve of a hip and skirting over her abdomen up to her right breast. She cupped it and ran her thumb across the woman's nipple.

The sensation of Emma's hands on her rocketed straight to her core. She wanted them all over her, everywhere all at once. Her body was on fire with need. Her hands pulled Emma closer, dragging the blonde to her. They skimmed across green satin, across hips and over the concealed curve of her ass, up her delicately sloping back until they reached the zipper. She let gravity pull her hand back down, taking the zipper with it. The fabric parted, exposing the delicious terrain of the blonde's back, though she couldn't see the revealed flesh from her position. Once the zipper had reached its end, all she had to do was give the fabric a little nudge downward and gravity did the rest, sliding the dress free of Emma's body. Emma stepped out of the green satin, kicking it in the direction of their other discards.

Regina slid her hands up the blonde's back, now bare to her touch, her eyes locked on Emma's, which had, up until the moment, been a lust filled green so dark it nearly matched her dress. But now, the gaze had lightened, and Regina was almost certain she saw panic flash in green irises before the blonde leaned in to capture her lips. The brunette let her have the kiss, savouring the feeling. But eventually, she forced herself to draw away before she completely lost her senses. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She stroked her fingertips across the blonde's pale cheek. "We can take this slowly Emma. We can wait. I'd wait forever if I had to. I don't want to ever make you feel like you have to do this for me."

Emma gave the same shy smile she'd been giving the brunette all night. "I want this, Regina. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Regina smiled, but it fell from her face as she realised Emma's hands were no longer upon her. They hadn't been since the woman's dress had left her body. Her arms were wrapped across her torso again, as if trying to hold herself together. "Are you cold darling?"

Emma shook her head, a blush colouring her cheeks as she glanced anywhere but into Regina's eyes. "I'm fine."

In that moment, Regina realised Emma had never exposed her abdomen to her. The first time she had undressed, that first night in Regina's bed, she had turned away until she'd slipped into the silk pajamas. Then, she'd used her arms to cover her torso as she'd stood in the bathroom doorway the second time. All the other times she'd been without a shirt, she'd been under the safety of the duvet. Emma was hiding something from her. Instinctively, her hands reached up, stroking comfortingly along the blonde's arms, encouraging them to relax their hold. "Emma, show me."

Emma's gaze finally flickered up to the brunette's. Regina was so beautiful; it was almost unreal, like she was some fair queen from a storybook. She was the kind of beautiful that inspired artists to paint, musicians to make music. And Emma was... well, _broken_. "It's not pretty."

Regina shrugged. "To me, there's no part of you that could ever not be exactly as I want it to be."

Emma searched for the lie in her eyes, her gaze flickering back and forth, scanning the brown eyes in front of her. "You know, I can always tell when someone is lying."

"Am I?" She asked as a mere formality; she already knew the answer.

"No. But if someone believes in their mind that something is true, even if it isn't, then it's not a lie." The muscles in her arms bunched as she tightened her grip.

Regina decided to try a different approach. "Do you trust me?"

Slowly Emma nodded. She did. There was no denying it anymore.

Regina smiled, pleased and relieved by her affirmative answer. "Then trust that I won't hurt you. I'm not them Emma. Whoever has judged you, they're not me. Trust _me_."

Emma hesitated a long moment before she finally let fall the wall of insecurity she'd been hiding behind for too long. It had been years since she'd cared what anyone thought of her. Sexual conquests didn't really pause to take in the finer details of who they were screwing, it was more just a blur of faces and the smell of cheap cigarettes and alcohol. But she cared what Regina thought. It pained her to know that Regina had already fought her way in past the walls far enough to matter this much. The word love flashed through her mind but she quickly kicked it back in its place.

Regina stared down at the revealed flesh, crisscrossed with scars of all shapes and sizes, the most prominent of which was a long horizontal scar that ran just above where the edge of her delicate lace underwear began. She took both the blonde's hands in hers as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She dragged the woman close by her hands until the blonde was standing between her spread legs. She looked up into green eyes that were staring down into her own, studying her intently before she dropped her mouth to the lean expanse of abdomen before her. Starting under the right breast, still held from her view by the black strapless bra, she kissed every scar, moving right to left and back, zigzagging across the blonde's torso and blessing every imperfection with her lips, ending with the horizontal scar. "You are perfect." She looked back up into green eyes, letting Emma know that she spoke only the truth, **her** truth.

Emma let her insecurities fall away as she leaned down, letting her mouth meet Regina's in an unburdened kiss.

Regina's eyes fell closed, one hand tangling in spun gold, the other resting on the blonde's hip. She was drunk on Emma's mouth, not able to ever drink deeply enough to satisfy her thirst. She nibbled gently on the blonde's rosy bottom lip and was rewarded with a gasp from the younger woman that gave her just enough time to slide her tongue into the mouth above hers. For a second, she thought Emma might reject the intrusion, but the blonde didn't, instead stroking her own tongue along the length of the brunette's.

Emma broke the contact, leaving the brunette to follow after her like a newborn pup loathe to stop sucking at its mother's teat. She smiled and pressed a conciliatory kiss to the full pouting lips before standing to her full height enough to reach behind her back and flip open the clasp of her strapless bra. The garment was pulled away and carelessly thrown over her shoulder across the room.

Regina felt a rush of heat flood the place between her thighs and a mewl emitted from her throat. Emma's breasts were high and full, unburdened by age, the skin smooth as silk. Unable to resist, she leaned forward to place a soft kiss to each of the peach areolas presented to her, smiling as Emma sighed breathily. She crawled backwards across the duvet, beckoning the blonde to follow her with one crooked finger.

Emma wasn't sure how she ended up on her back. She had been crawling on all fours across the soft bed towards the brunette and then, before she knew what was happening, Regina was over her, pushing her gently down into the mattress as she hungrily joined their mouths once more.

Regina had been unable to resist another moment. She had wanted Emma for what seemed an eternity, so long it seemed in heart and mind that she could no longer remember a time when she hadn't had this desire in her life, a desire to be infinitely closer to the blonde woman beneath her. She slid her hand delicately down between them, over the battle-ravaged expanse of the younger woman's stomach, past the boundary line of her horizontal scar and over the black lace at her apex, cupping her through the soaked material.

Emma broke away from her mouth and stared up into her eyes. She didn't force herself further into the contact, didn't beg, just merely waited with unguarded eyes, eyes that said she trusted Regina completely.

Regina moved her hand back up to one hip, her other hand coming down to join it on the opposite hip, fingers hooking through the lace and dragging it down the pale stretch of legs. She felt blessed as the entire beauty of Emma Swan was laid out before her. How had she gotten so lucky? Surely this was not the punishment she'd always feared, the retribution she'd been running from for years. For the first time, she felt as if she were actually _winning_, for once.

Emma felt like the most beautiful creature in the world when Regina looked down on her, drinking her all in with her dark eyes. She truly felt as if she were the animal that was her namesake, as if she were that graceful. In Regina's adoring gaze she felt like the ugly duckling transforming into something greater than it ever imagined it could be, the swan. Regina's fingers touched her skin in random places, like lightning touching down to the earth, there for just a moment before it moved on to touch some other expanse of flesh. Fire danced across her skin in resounding ripples wherever the woman's fingertips brushed. She wanted more contact, but she allowed this quiet exploration; it was good for them both.

Regina began to press her lips to the spots her fingers touched. She wanted to worship the body below her, to let Emma know how cherished she was. Finally her lips found their way back to Emma's and the blonde met her with a matched fervor. Her hand slid back down to below the blonde's waist, urging her thighs to part which they did willingly. She stroked one finger through the abundant wetness at the woman's core, causing Emma's body to finally react, jumping slightly at her touch. Regina ran the finger up and down Emma's length, purposefully avoiding the younger woman's rock hard clit.

Emma locked gazes with the brunette, watching the darker woman's eyes intently as the lust built up between them, growing more potent with each swipe up or down of the woman's finger. She leaned up just enough to connect them once more at the mouth, drawing Regina down with her. She felt the brunette's finger circling her entrance before slowly sinking into her. She gasped, releasing the other woman's mouth as her eyes slammed shut and her head pressed hard back into the pillow beneath it.

Regina placed fevered kisses along the line of the strong jaw, trying to coax Emma back. "Emma. Stay with me."

Emma wasn't sure where she mustered the willpower to open her eyes and bring them back to Regina, but she soon found herself staring up into liquid chocolate again. Only then did she feel Regina begin to move within her, drawing her finger out only to press it back in. She whimpered softly with every inward thrust. She didn't even need to ask, the moment she thought she could accommodate more, the brunette obliged her silent request, slipping another finger inside, never breaking pace. If this were some one night stand with a person she never planned to see again, she would be more vocal, possibly even crude. With them it was all about a need to satisfy her random desire to have physical contact, and she never allowed them access to her body; she was the dominant in all those situations. She hadn't had many lovers, not more than she could count on two hands. Regina would mark seven. Lucky number seven. And she would be the only the second person to ever have her, to ever seize her body. She hadn't allowed anyone this close since... _him_. And this meant more than anything with him ever had. This was something new, this was... **love**.

Regina increased her pace, feeling the blonde's walls stretch to allow for the faster rhythm. Green eyes fluttered but managed to stay locked on hers, their bodies rocking in tandem with the momentum she was creating. Her thumb slid across the hard nub, eliciting a loud whimper from the blonde, who finally started to rock her hips more forcefully against the hand between them. She could feel Emma's walls tightening, drawing her in deeper and not wanting to let her back out as if her walls were content to keep her fingers locked in their warmth.

Brown kept losing sight of green as the blonde's eyes fluttered closed in her pleasure and then would snap open as the younger woman remembered Regina's request that she stay with her.

"Regina." That one word held so much, a demand, a plea, a request, an exaltation, a benediction. "Regina."

Regina smiled down at the blonde, pressing her lips against the deputy's forehead, her fluttering eyelids, her cheeks, the tip of her nose and finally her mouth. She massaged her clit as her tongue slipped into the younger woman's mouth. Emma released a moan that reverberated through the brunette's own mouth. She swallowed the woman's whimpers and rocked harder inside her, trying to draw her climax from her.

Emma's hands, which until this point had been tangled in the duvet, clawed at the brunette's sides, her nails dragging along tan flesh as she came undone around the brunette's fingers. "Regina." Her mouth broke away from the older woman's as her body shuddered.

Regina was quite certain she had never seen something as beautiful as Emma climaxing. The blonde's back arched as her head fell back, offering up her breasts on display. The brunette wrapped her tongue around the woman's right nipple, sucking it into her mouth, earning her a soft moan as the blonde continued to ride out her orgasm on the brunette's fingers. Emma's rocking started to wind down as the high left her body, Regina still nipping and sucking at her breasts until her body stilled. She slowly withdrew her fingers, first one then the other.

Emma missed the feeling of Regina inside her instantly. She felt empty and incomplete. It seemed wrong, cold somehow. She watched the brunette slowly lick her fingers clean, like a cat giving itself a bath. She waited until the brunette was done and her dark eyes had returned to her before she pushed her down on the bed and crawled over her. It was her turn now.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: want to know how emma pays regina back? drop me a little review and you shall find out shortly.


	16. Our Scars Remind Us

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: a very big thank you to everyone who continues to review. it truly makes my day every single time and keeps me going through the down times. i'm here until thursday so i'd like to get another update in once more before then. we'll see. until then, enjoy and please please please continue to review.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 16: Our Scars Remind Us**

Regina stared up at the blonde who was leaning over her, pinning her arms above her head at the wrist. She stretched up as far as her captor would allow, her neck stretching away from her shoulders, just enough to press a kiss to Emma's cheek before falling back to the pillow, gazing up at the younger woman with hooded eyes.

Emma appreciated that Regina had gone easy on her. She'd needed to feel loved and cherished, to feel safe without her walls. It was exactly what she needed. She dropped her mouth to Regina's neck, kissing and licking her flesh, sucking gently on her pulse point.

Regina purred deep in her throat, her hand breaking from Emma's grip, tangling in the blonde's long hair, pulling her in closer and holding her there. The throbbing in her core was fraying her senses. She wanted Emma, needed her more than she could remember ever needing anything.

Emma pulled up, straddling the brunette's hips, her eyes fluttering as her hot core brushed against the brunette's covered one. She ground down and Regina gasped.

Regina looked at the woman poised above her, her pale skin glowing in the moonlight, her breasts outlined in light from the window, the pale scars across her stomach seemed to glow. She reached up, running her hands up and down the younger woman's sides, tracing her fingertips along her ribs. Emma's eyes fluttered, her entire body still sensitive from her orgasm.

Emma tried to internally shake off the dizzying effect the woman's hands were having on her senses. She wouldn't be distracted. She leaned down, placing feather light kisses on the woman's collarbone, tracing its entire length from left to right before moving lower, nuzzling the valley between Regina's breasts that she'd admired all throughout dinner. She kissed the underside of the brunette's left breast tenderly, before enveloping her nipple in the heat of her mouth.

Regina moaned, her hands sliding from the blonde's ribs to her upper back, her long nails dragging softly across shoulder blades, feeling them bunch and flex under her fingers as the blonde shifted to her right breast and showered it with just as much attention and care. Unable to contain her arousal as the blonde had and unaccustomed to waiting for what she wanted, she lifted her hips off the bed, urging Emma lower.

Emma smiled against her skin, her tongue carving a hot trail down the center of her stomach, following an invisible trail down her torso to the place she needed her most. The closer her kisses got, the more they seemed to sear into the brunette's skin, until the blonde was positioned over her sex.

Regina didn't hesitate to part her thighs the moment she felt the stroke across them. She watched Emma caress the smooth flesh of her inner thigh reverently, kissing where her fingers touched. She could feel her arousal and knew it had ruined the small bit of lace that protected her sex from view. As soon as Emma was done bestowing her attentions upon her inner thighs, she placed a soft kiss to the saturated underwear, almost a kiss goodbye to the soon to be dear departed lace.

The lace was in her way and it had to go. She grabbed the gray material and nearly tore it as she yanked it down her legs. She found Regina's eyes as she carelessly tossed the ruined garment aside.

Regina was extremely turned on by the playful glint in Emma's eyes. The blonde was back in her element once more, her confidence back now, drowning her insecurities in her wake. She watched with bated breath as Emma kissed her knees each in turn before pushing them out to spread her wider, all the while her eyes never leaving Regina's.

Emma nestled down into the cove she'd created between Regina's legs. The scent of Regina's arousal was intoxicating. She hadn't expected this, to feel such a ravenous hunger. She rested her cheek against a trembling inner thigh just for a moment before turning to nuzzle the skin affectionately.

"Emma." Regina was already panting with the anticipation.

"Anything for you, Regina." She draped a leg over each shoulder and lowered her mouth for her first taste of the mayor of Storybrooke. Regina tasted divine, though she had expected nothing less, the softest hints of tart apples and spice. She drug her tongue up her length, from bottom to top, collecting her on her tongue.

"Oh yes." Regina's back bowed off the bed, she was already so sensitive from the anticipation. Her hands clutched at the duvet, her knuckles going white as she gripped hard.

Emma dipped her tongue into her entrance, delving into where the wetness was even more abundant, drinking her like she was fine wine, an extremely rare vintage. The whimpers and breathless pants coming from above only worked to urge her further inside the brunette.

For the first time ever, Regina cursed herself for not going with iron bars for her headboard so she'd have something to grab hold of. Her hands slid uselessly against the ivory cloth of her headboard, seeking purchase where there was none. She was trying to keep her hips still but they were now rocking into the contact of their own accord.

Emma moved from inside her to the nerves that were begging for her attentions and their subsequent release. She gave Regina's clit a good firm lick with the flat of her tongue, nearly sending the woman's body up off the bed. Her left hand skimmed up over the torso she'd traversed earlier and found Regina's, untangling it from where she was about to inadvertently tear the duvet to shreds. She entwined their fingers just as her mouth sucked the brunette's clit into it's warmth, sucking hard and long.

Regina came with an unrestrained cry, her core bucking into Emma's waiting mouth, as the blonde continued to lick at her flesh, her right hand absently stroking the outside of her right thigh, an action meant to soothe and calm even as fireworks were exploding behind her eyelids, which had fallen closed at some point she couldn't recall. She felt like she was melting, sinking into a bliss so complete that she dared not move for fear of shattering the comfortable heaviness that had settled inside her. Was it possible to feel weightless and heavy at the same time? Her nerves were sensitized to the point it was almost painful and with a tug on the blonde's hand, she urged her back up her body.

Emma slid straight up until their mouths collided, magnets drawn to each other.

Regina tasted her own essence on Emma's tongue; it complimented Emma's taste well. Separate, each was pleasant, but together they were addictive. She never wanted this moment, _this life_, to end. She wanted to keep Emma forever. "Emma."

The blonde drew up enough to look down at the brunette, her eyes soft and curious at the emotion she heard in Regina's tone.

Regina trailed a fingertip from the blonde's temple down the side of her face to her jaw, her eyes traveling across every inch of the face up above her, memorizing it, just in case what she was about to say took it from her. "I love you."

A flash of pure fear crossed Emma's green eyes like a comet sailing across the universe of her irises, a bright spark that was there and gone again, and for a moment Regina believed she'd truly ruined everything. It was too soon. But she'd learned the hard way in life that sometimes there are things we wish to do and say that we put aside for fear and then, when it's too late, our biggest regret is that we didn't say or do them when we had the chance. She wouldn't waste any more time, not with Emma.

Emma felt her world stop, put on pause by three little words. She had heard them spoken to her and she had spoken them herself, but each only twice. All the people involved in those four utterances of that phrase were no longer in her life. Love was sacred, and for Emma Swan, it was never something to be taken or given lightly. Still, she had her superpower to fall back on and, after a long moment of complete fear, she realised she detected no lie in the brunette's statement. Her breath caught in her chest. Regina loved her. Regina _loved_ her. This wasn't fake; it was completely and utterly real. She watched the play of emotions across Regina's face slowly work their way from vulnerably hopeful to panic and she realised she still hadn't responded. She couldn't say it back, not now, possibly not ever, but she wasn't running this time; Regina needed to know that. She dipped her head down and captured the brunette's lips, kissing her passionately.

Regina was sure her lungs were failing as she waited for Emma to stay or to run or to just do something. But the blonde remained silent, contemplative. Panic slowly started to creep in until she was starting to feel suffocated by it. And then Emma kissed her, deeply. It was a kiss meant to convey unspoken emotion, meant to console and reassure. And it did. Emma was, in possibly the only way she knew how, telling Regina that she was okay, that she was not going to run away. For now at least, Emma Swan was going to let Regina Mills love her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at their entwined hands as their fingers weaved in and out of each other though their contact never once broke. She was sitting with her back against the headboard, the sheet pulled loosely up to cover her chest from the chilly night air that had set in the room. Regina lay on her side, facing her, her eyes trained on their joined hands as well. Regina had fallen asleep shortly after she'd confessed her love, a little cat nap that had lasted just over an hour. Emma hadn't been so fortunate. Her mind was too full.

Regina halted the weaving of their hands, clasping the blonde's firmly in hers and dragging it down to pepper kisses along her palm and fingertips. "What are you thinking about?"

Emma was silent for a long time. Sharing had never been her strong suit. But Regina had put herself out on a limb with her confession; Emma knew she owed her something in return. "My past."

Regina glanced up at her. "Will you tell me?" There was no expectations in her eyes, just genuine interest.

"Almost eight years ago, back when I had first left my group home, I was living a life that no one would be proud of. I spent my nights in abandoned warehouses, just trying to keep to myself and out of the way of the junkies. I worked, saved what money I could to buy clothes and food, shelter when I could. I had thought I had needed rescuing back at the group home, that some white knight would show up and save me from my hell. I thought leaving would make that feeling go away. It just got worse. Out on the streets, I really needed saving. I learned quickly how to survive. A lot of the damage you see is from those first two years on the streets." She found the flesh of her stomach under the sheet with her free hand, stroking along scars she'd memorized long ago. "I was just almost seventeen when I met him. He was clumsy, but charming. He made me laugh. And he was clever. That's who you want to align yourself with when you live the way I did, with the clever people. And best of all, he was calm under pressure. He taught me so much in the time we knew each other, how to keep a straight face and never let them see me sweat, how to talk my way out of almost anything. He was charismatic... my prince charming, or so I thought. That scar, the big one, he gave me that." She left out that his involvement in that scar was indirect; he didn't know about the c-section any more than he had known about the pregnancy. Still, the scar was his fault. "He was the last person to say those three words to me. Shortly thereafter I learned that you have to be your own white knight."

Regina looked up into sad green eyes, hesitating just a moment before she reached up and drew the sheet down, exposing first the blonde's chest and then her stomach. She dragged it down until it pooled around her hips, freeing the long horizontal scar from cover. She leaned in and placed a trail of kisses along the pale dark line.

Emma felt a new wave of arousal pool at her core seeing the brunette's mouth so close to her need, reverently kissing marred skin as if it were the most perfect part of her when she herself had always considered it the most shameful, evidence of her biggest regret that she was forced to carry with herself every day. She squeezed the hand that still clasped hers, drawing the brunette's attention to her face for a brief moment.

Regina saw the need clearly spelled out in Emma's gaze. The blonde needed release, again, and the brunette was all too happy to oblige her silent request. She bit down softly on the blonde's hipbone jutting up underneath her fair flesh, her free hand slid up to one pale breast, caressing the flesh. She smirked as Emma's nipple hardened beneath her palm.

Emma arched up into the contact. Not much attention had been paid to her breasts their first go round; Regina had been too focused on touching her between her legs. But now her sensitive nipples were demanding acknowledgment, straining to feel Regina's touch.

Regina slid up her body, her mouth hovering above the neglected breast as her free hand continued to knead the softness of the other. Her every exhalation sent a puff of hot breath across the peak, teasing it to awareness before she'd even touched it. "Your body is so responsive Emma." She covered the nipple with her mouth.

Emma gasped. "Only to you. It responds to you." She panted as she felt Regina lick and suck at her breast until, at a moment no different than the one before or after it, she switched breasts, her hand traveling to the one her mouth had been attending and vice versa. Regina's body slid over under the sheets to straddle hers so she'd have better access. Emma rolled her hips up and against the mayor's bare core, eliciting a low sound caught somewhere between a growl and a moan from the older woman, the sound vibrating over the flesh of her breast. She repeated the action.

Regina broke away to look up into her face.

Emma finally broke her hand away from their entwined grip to grab the brunette's face and direct her back up to her mouth, kissing her hungrily as she rocked into her. As soon as Regina was hooked on her mouth and she knew the woman wasn't likely to pull away from her, she let her hand find the curve of the woman's hip before insinuating itself between them and gliding into the brunette's wetness.

Regina gasped into her mouth, her body rocking down into the contact. Her body seemed to be telling her that those fingers were not in their correct place unless they were buried knuckle deep inside her.

Emma didn't feel like prolonging the teasing, slipping two fingers inside the older woman without further delay.

Regina mewled happily at the feeling of fullness. She began to ride the blonde's hand, the muscles beneath the tan skin of her abdomen rippling as she moved up and down their length. She reached between them, entering the blonde with no preamble.

Emma gasped, thrusting herself down against the fingers inside of her.

It took nearly a minute before they were able to synchronize their thrusts until they were both working each other at the same pace, moving so fast in and out that their hips were becoming erratic trying to keep up. Regina fell down so that she was laying flat atop the blonde, attacking her mouth with fervour. Their skin slapped pleasantly together as they moved, creating a constant backbeat to their activities.

Regina reached the edge first but she held back, staving off her desire to release the tension until she felt Emma tightening around her fingers. Once the blonde's climax was upon her, Regina finally let go, falling with Emma head long into a sea of shuddering bliss. For several long moments their bodies moved spastically together as they embraced wave after wave of their orgasms. She withdrew her fingers from the blonde, once more licking them clean of the younger woman's essence. She felt Emma's own fingers slip discreetly from her, leaving her empty once more. She commandeered them on their way to Emma's mouth, bringing them to her own and cleaning them, watching Emma for her reaction, delighting as she saw the woman's pupils blown.

Emma had quite possibly never seen anything as sexy as Regina cleaning herself off her fingers before in her life. She watched every single moment, unblinking, fascinated by the sight and the feel of Regina's wet tongue wrapping around her soaked fingers. She could have jumped the woman right in that second but she refrained, to pounce was to stop the brunette's actions and that was just unacceptable.

As she finished, Regina leaned in, her mouth hovering centimeters from the younger woman's. "Wanna taste?"

Emma launched herself the last small distance, their mouths crashing together with such force that their teeth audibly clacked together. She could taste the brunette most prominently, that intoxicating taste she loved, but there were undertones of herself there as well. It was oddly pleasant and completely arousing. Her tongue swept through Regina's mouth, collecting the flavour as much as she could.

Their kisses became more languid, tapering off as Regina nuzzled against Emma's neck, her body draped limply over the blonde's. She didn't have the strength, nor the desire, to move. Together they finally drifted off, too content in each other to wait for the dawn.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

When Regina awoke it was to an empty bed. The sun was up high in the sky, sparkling brightly on the bed. The clock on the bedside table told her it was already well after noon. Where was Emma? Had the previous night only been a dream? She tried to wrack her brain for what had really happened the night before. Had she dropped Emma back at her apartment? No, she had brought her here. They had come upstairs together. They'd undressed, they'd touched, they'd tasted. There was no way she could have imagined all that.

The bedroom door opened slowly, and a messy head of blonde hair peeked around it. The instant she saw an alert Regina, she frowned. "Damn, I was hoping to be back before you woke." She stepped into the room, lifting up two steaming mugs. "I brought you caffeine." She closed the door with a bare foot and set the mugs down on the bedside table.

Regina could barely speak. Emma was dressed in one of her long sleeved button ups and nothing else. The front of the shirt was low enough to block any inappropriate views, but the tail end barely covered her ass, the bottom of her cheeks peeking out. Combine it with her sex mussed blonde hair and it was quite possibly the sexiest Regina had ever seen the blonde.

She got up onto her knees, the duvet slipping off her body, leaving her completely exposed. She crawled to the edge of the bed. Her hands grabbed the blonde's hips and dragged her closer before starting on the bottom button and expertly flicking it apart. It was her shirt after all, she'd been taking it off of herself for years.

Emma smirked down at the brunette, watching as she reached the fifth button before she tried to stop her, her smirk growing as Regina just slapped her hand away and continued.

"Katherine called while you were asleep." Her eyes fluttered as Regina undid the last button and instantly went for her breasts, her hands sliding over them. She tried to gather her thoughts, but Regina was trying her focus. "She's... oh yea, right there... she's bringing Henry home at two thirty."

Regina's ministrations halted but she didn't remove their hands from their position. She glanced over at the clock. It was three after two. She grinned, her eyes sliding back to the green ones. "Plenty of time."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You. Are. Insatiable." There was no answer, just a yelp of surprise falling from her own lips as she was pulled quickly down onto the bed, their mugs of coffee long forgotten.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma raced down the stairs when she heard the doorbell, pulling her long sleeved t-shirt on over her head as she went. Plenty of time had translated into barely enough time. Once Regina had started, she had shown no signs of stopping. It had only been by Emma's frequent checks of the clock that they'd even stopped at all. Luckily, she had clothes down the hall in her room. She hadn't even bothered to search which drawer she'd shoved her clean underwear in, instead just pulling on the sweats draped across her bed and going commando, grabbing the shirt as she ran from the room, just as the bell sounded through the house. Regina probably didn't even have her underwear on yet. The blonde was just thankful that the shirt she'd grabbed wasn't white or her braless state would be giving Katherine and Henry quite a show.

She threw open the front door with a smile, which was returned by the older blonde, but not by Henry. He was asleep in Katherine's arms, his little head on her shoulder. Emma raised a questioning eyebrow.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "David. Kept him up last night watching movies and playing video games. I swear that husband of mine reverts back down to a kid whenever Henry's around." She passed him off to Emma's arms, setting his bag just inside the door. "Tell Regina that he did well despite the late night, no fever, nothing of that sort. I wish I could stay and hear the details of last night but I have to get started on my lemon bars if I plan on having them done in time for tomorrow." She was already backing off the stoop. "Have a good day. Tell Regina I'll see her tomorrow at noon."

Emma raised a hand in farewell. Katherine had talked so fast that she hadn't even had the opportunity to thank her. She closed the front door, placing a kiss to Henry's forehead and bending just enough to scoop up his pack. She draped it over the shoulder he wasn't occupying and started back up the stairs. She was just setting foot on the second floor landing when Regina rushed out of the master suite, tucking her shirt into a pair of slacks.

She looked up at Emma and the sleeping boy in her arms.

The blonde mouthed 'late night' before pushing open the door to his room and carrying him in, laying him gently back down on the bed. He was easy to tuck in when he was out cold she found, and with a well placed kiss to the top of his head, she was leaving him to his nap.

Regina was leaning against the hallway wall when she closed the door. "What had Katherine running out of here so fast? Normally she updates me on how he did."

"She said he did fine, just stayed up late with David. Something about lemon bars. Oh, and she said she'd see you tomorrow at noon. What's tomorrow at noon?"

Regina's eyes grew wide. "The bake sale. _Crap_, I was supposed to make something for the bake sale. I completely forgot." She smirked at Emma. "Someone was distracting me."

Emma smiled. "Well I guess it's a good thing that someone happens to be awesome at baking and can help with your problem."

Regina shook her head. "It's your day off."

"If I wasn't here, I'd be watching some sappy chick flick with Mary Margaret, crying over our bowl of popcorn because Jack wishes he knew how to quit Ennis."

Regina raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on her face. "Brokeback Mountain, really?"

"Hey, don't knock her boys." Emma turned for the stairs, leaving Regina to follow. "Besides, it's my day off, and I want to spend it with you and Henry."

Regina pushed away from the wall and set off after the blonde. How could she argue with that logic?

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

If asked after the fact, neither woman could agree on who started it. Emma would claim it was Regina, scraping a glob of chocolate frosting down her arm. Regina however, would insist it was Emma with the confectioner's sugar, sprinkling it onto her head like it was fairy dust. All either woman could agree on was that a war was declared.

"You ruined my kitchen." Regina looked around from her seat on the floor, her back resting against the refrigerator.

Emma shrugged. "Battle is messy." She ran her finger over what appeared to be a blood splatter on the front of her shirt and popped the finger into her mouth, licking the cherry filling off the digit.

"Momma? Emma?" Henry stepped into the kitchen, his eyes going wide at the mess.

Regina glanced at her son and his incredulous expression. Before Emma came into their lives, a time she was quickly referring to as the pre-Emma years, she would have gone white at seeing her kitchen in such disarray. Now, she couldn't feel anything but happy. She looked back over to Emma with a mischievous grin. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Emma's smirk quickly matched her own. "New target acquired?"

Regina nodded and both women turned to look at the five year old still looking around the room in shock. Poor boy didn't see the flour bomb coming his way until it exploded around him and both women laughed. For a long moment, Henry didn't move, staring down at the white splayed all over the front of his pajamas. Then he smiled and dived behind the other side of the counter, narrowly avoiding the sprinkles tossed in his direction.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma wasn't sure what all any of the stains on her clothes were as she peeled them off and let them drop to the floor of the en suite bathroom in Regina's room. The brunette was giving Henry a bath so she'd offered her shower up for Emma's use. The blonde had been grateful. As much as she enjoyed a good food fight, once it was over, all she really felt was gross and sticky. There was cherry filling in her hair, along with a mix of every other cupcake ingredient. If she stuck herself in the oven she would probably come out fluffy and golden in twenty minutes.

The kitchen had taken forever to clean up and Regina had insisted they do it before their showers. She wasn't sure how frosting had gotten on the ceiling, but it had. She'd had to put Henry on her shoulders so he could wipe it off. It had taken nearly an hour, but finally the last evidence of their battle had been erased, leaving the kitchen in its normal pristine condition.

She stepped into the shower and sighed happily as the hot water began to wash away the remnants of their food fight, watching as the odd concoction swirled away down the drain. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair, dragging out some brown sugar and sprinkles.

It took two rounds of Regina's high end shampoo before she got the last dredges of powder free from her hair. Her body was still sticky from the filling. She reached for the body wash.

A rush of cold air hit her skin as the shower door opened behind her. Before she could turn, a warm body was pressing against her back, lips falling against the back of her bare shoulder. She smiled. "I thought you were giving Henry a bath?"

"I did. He's watching The Lion King until we're done in here. Then I was thinking Granny's for dinner?" The brunette pressed another kiss to the back of her shoulder before reaching around her to grab for the shampoo.

Emma let out a teasing gasp. "But Madam Mayor, what will your constituents say? Out with the Deputy off duty? How scandalous."

Regina rolled her eyes but she turned the blonde to face her, leveling her with a serious glare. "Miss Swan, you and me, **us**... it's a _thing_. People should know."

Emma smiled. Regina wanted to be seen with her. Regina wanted to admit, _publicly_, that they were together, gossip be damned. She liked that more than she cared to admit. "As you wish."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Granny's was packed when they arrived. It seemed like everyone in town had turned out just for the momentous occasion, though Emma knew she should have known there would be a crowd. It was Saturday night and this was one of the only restaurants in town. Everyone seemed to take note of their entrance. The noise level quieted down considerably and she felt eyes on her from every direction.

There was a free booth towards the back, the only one it seemed and Regina made a beeline for it, one hand entwined with Emma's, the other clutching Henry's. Emma slid into one side, Regina and Henry into the other.

Ruby seemed to appear out of nowhere with three menus. "Hello Mayor Mills, Henry, Emma."

"Miss Lucas, good evening." Regina took her menu and opened it, browsing the selections though Emma was certain she'd probably seen the same menu a million times. Emma had only been here a couple weeks and she herself already knew it by heart.

"Can I get you guys anything to drink?"

"Water for me. Henry will have some apple juice. Emma?" Regina's brown eyes met her own.

Emma didn't know how she could be so casual with all the eyes that were trying to appear as if they weren't staring, but were failing, badly. The attention was unnerving her, but Regina appeared not to notice. "Um, some of that blackberry iced tea for me. The one you made me yesterday."

Ruby nodded. "Water, apple juice and blackberry iced tea. Got it. Be right back." She turned on her heel and disappeared back towards the counter.

Emma watched her go. She immediately missed the younger brunette's non-judgment. Ruby could care less who she was with and what she was doing with them. Now that woman was on the other side of the diner, leaving a sea of judgmental faces between their booth and her. They'd had such anonymity in Portland, no one had looked twice at them. Here it was a different story. This was why she had never liked small towns. She knew what they were thinking. What was someone like her doing with someone like Regina? They were thinking she wasn't good enough, and now she was starting to think that too.

A hand over hers snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked down to her hand, the mayor's clutching it comfortably over the table. She looked up into brown eyes and Regina smiled, mouthing 'you're okay' before giving her hand a squeeze and letting it go. Emma felt her panic start to ebb away.

Ruby chose that moment to reappear. She set their drinks in front of them and then pulled out her pad to take their orders.

Once she'd taken their orders and split, Emma made sure to keep her focus on the two people across from her. Let everyone else think what they would. None of that mattered. All that mattered was sitting in the booth across from her.


	17. Welcome To The World, Carl

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: Happy Valentine's Day to all of my lovely readers. you all get to be my valentines this year! and my valentine's gift to you is this final chapter before i go back to work later today. i will post as i can, hopefully i will have chapters ready for you when i go on holiday to los angeles at the end of february/beginning of march. until then, enjoy this fluffy chapter. and i do promise that eventually they will find out emma is henry's mom, just not yet. be patient, we're getting there.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 17: Welcome To The World, Carl**

"You're home." Mary Margaret smiled when she saw the blonde walk through the door, closing it and locking the deadbolt behind her. "I didn't expect you until next weekend. Ruby called and told me you were having a 'family dinner' at Granny's."

Emma ran a hand through her blonde hair and flopped onto the couch next to her roommate. "I was." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"But?" Mary Margaret wasn't the type to prod, but Emma looked like she needed a friend right about now.

"I asked for weekends away for a _reason_. I negotiated staying here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights."

Mary Margaret shrugged. "That was back when you thought it was just a business arrangement. Now it's something more. Isn't it?"

Emma nodded. "She told me she loves me."

Mary Margaret beamed. "That's great." Honestly, the schoolteacher was surprised that Regina had been the first to admit it out loud. It wasn't like her, but then again, none of the things she'd done since Emma had entered her life had been her usual mode of action.

Emma's continued assault on her bottom lip said didn't seem to agree. "I didn't say it back. I know she didn't expect me to, but still..."

"Do you love her?"

Emma shrugged. "No." She frowned. "I think so." Finally she nodded forlornly, as if resigned to some fate she'd been trying to avoid. "Yes."

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow in silent questioning.

Emma sighed. "It's not that easy." She pushed off the couch and went to the kitchen. Even though she wasn't much of a drinker, she had the urge to have alcohol. But it hadn't ended so well the first time she'd turned to drinking to forget Regina Mills. Besides, there were no more stray tequila bottles in the flat just waiting to be consumed.

"You think it's any easier for her?" Mary Margaret stood and followed the blonde, unwilling to let her wiggle her way out of this one with excuses the schoolteacher knew she'd been hiding behind for far too long already. "I wish you had known her before you came into her life. If you could only see the difference Emma, you'd know how much she's changed for you. Regina has never been an easy woman to get along with, I know that better than most. But I have no doubt that she's crazy about you. She'd do anything for you."

Emma let out a frustrated sigh. "But _why_?" She leaned back against the fridge. "I don't _understand_ it."

Mary Margaret shrugged, a wistful smile on her lips. "Maybe you're not supposed to."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It had surprised her when Emma had said she was going home from Granny's. She'd watched in confusion as the blonde turned away from the Mercedes and it was only after she had hugged Henry goodbye and was halfway down the block that Regina had realised the blonde was referring to Miss Blanchard's flat and not to the big white house on Mifflin Street.

It was true that they'd agreed she could have weekends at the flat, but she was sure that would have changed now that they'd acknowledged there was something between them. She had figured, _hoped_ really, that Emma would ignore that little clause in their arrangement. Didn't she want to be with Regina and Henry? Was that small creaky bed in the stale prison cell of a room at the flat truly preferable to the bed they shared? It couldn't be. So why had Emma gone?

By the time she pulled into the garage and collected her son from the backseat, she had drawn only one inevitable conclusion. Her words had scared Emma. She of all people had thrown love into the mix with a woman who admittedly shied away from such things. She hadn't felt Emma's flight instinct kick in at the time, but maybe it had been a delayed reaction.

Or just as easily it could have been their family outing. Maybe it was too big a step, too fast. By tomorrow afternoon every single soul in Storybrooke would know that Mayor Mills was indeed romantically involved with the blonde haired newcomer who'd become the town's first deputy. When they saw Emma around town, she'd get curious stares, glares, private smiles. Everyone would have an opinion on the matter whether positive or negative; everyone always did. If there was one thing that could be counted on when it came to small towns it was their high propensity for judgment. But she had thought Emma could handle all that. She'd lived her entire life that way and she was strong because of it.

She set Henry down in his bed. He had been yawning the whole drive home and he easily kicked off his boots and let her pull his lounge pants and shirt off. He didn't even wait for her to grab fresh pajamas, just curled up in the fetal position in his Thor underoos and closed his eyes. She wrapped the blankets around him with a smile, setting an extra one at the foot of his bed just in case he got cold during the night.

Once she was in the solitude of her bedroom, empty without its other occupant, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out her phone.

**I apologise Miss Swan, if I pushed.**

Seconds ticked by as she stared at the dark unresponsive screen of her cell. She was just about to set it aside when the screen lit up with an incoming text message from Emma Swan.

_No, you didn't. I'm sorry I left so abruptly. I miss you both already._

Regina smiled in relief. She unzipped her slacks and pushed them down off her legs, unbuttoning her shirt and setting it aside, all the while trying to think of a reply. Her first instinct was to ask Emma to come over. She was not looking forward to sleeping alone. But she knew the blonde had gone home for a reason, maybe simply for space, if only until Monday evening. She should let her have this small bit of freedom, maybe it would be enough to keep Emma from feeling trapped and she would consider staying. She was unclasping her bra when an idea hit her. She shrugged the garment off and reached for her phone.

**Tell me how much you miss me. Tell me what you'd be doing to me if you were here.**

There was a small eternity that passed as she waited for a reply, but she just figured Emma was typing a detailed response. But when the reply came, it was short.

_Are you... sexting?_

Regina's nose scrunched in disapproval. Insecurity started to creep into her consciousness.

**I'm bad at it aren't I?**

This time the reply was quick.

_No actually. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't reading the signals wrong._

**You still haven't told me what you'd be doing to me Emma.**

_Well that depends..._

**On?**

_Do I get the pleasure of stripping you out of your clothes, or did you beat me to the punch?_

Regina smirked.

**One piece of lace remains. You're a clever girl; I'm sure you can deduce which one.**

_Are we in your bedroom?_

Regina frowned a little at the word '_your_', but chose to ignore the flash of displeasure. Rome wasn't built in a day, all in good time. She laid down on the bed, taking a deep breath as she rested back against the pillows.

**Yes. I'm in bed.**

_I straddle your hips, using my body weight to pin them down. I don't want you moving an inch. The I slowly lean down and take your left nipple into my mouth, sucking on it gently._

Regina groaned softly and closed her eyes, the scene playing out in her mind's eye perfectly. She could almost feel the wet heat enveloping her flesh and her nipples hardened just from the thought. She opened her eyes to type a reply.

**I tangle one hand in your hair, keeping you close, your mouth on me. My other hand scratches along your back. I moan.**

_Your moan makes me shiver. I move to the other nipple, showering it with equal attention before moving south, pausing to nip at the underside of your breast before licking and kissing my way down your stomach._

Regina wanted so badly to touch herself, even more she wanted Emma here to do it for her. How had she ever thought that distance was okay? Emma needed to be **here** all the time.

**I whimper and roll my hips, urging you lower. I need you.**

_Need me to what Regina?_

**Fuck me.**

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma sat, upside down, on the couch the next morning as Mary Margaret stepped out of her bedroom. The younger woman had her legs draped over the back of the couch, her head resting on the front edge of the cushion as she seemed to be contemplating the high loft ceiling above her head with a curious expression. Her phone sat abandoned on her chest, her arms crossed on her abdomen.

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow. She was used to Emma being up when she was, the girl was an early riser, but the bags under her green eyes bespoke of her obvious lack of sleep. "Morning."

A grunt came from the form on the couch in response.

"You okay?"

Another grunt. There was no difference from the first grunt and Mary Margaret was left just as puzzled. She moved into the small kitchen to set the tea on. The clock said it was just after eight. She had almost two hours before she had to be across town to help set up the bake sale.

"Are you coming to the bake sale today? Regina will be there."

As expected, that got a reaction, any mention of Regina was like to get one from the blonde. Emma turned her head to look at the petite brunette. "I wasn't invited."

Mary Margaret chuckled lightly. "It's a _bake sale_ Emma, you don't have to be invited."

The blonde frowned and went back to looking at the ceiling and it occurred to her roommate that Emma Swan may actually have never been to a bake sale in her life. She decided to try a different approach to smooth over her mistake. "I could really use the help. I baked way too much and it would really be great to have an extra pair of hands."

The blonde shrugged but didn't look her way again. "Yea, sure. I'll help."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Perfect." She had a feeling all the blonde needed was a healthy dose of Regina and she'd be right as rain.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma was starting to regret her offer to help with the bake sale as she carried the containers of sweets in the general direction of Mary Margaret's booth. They were stacked six containers high, blocking her view of everything in front of her. She walked slowly, praying she didn't run into anything, or worse, anyone.

They'd been here over an hour and a half now and she still hadn't finished all Mary Margaret's orders. The woman was like Suzie Homemaker; not only had she brought enough sweets to feed an entire third world country for a year with some to spare, all beautifully decorated at that, but she'd also had Emma running around helping Ruby set up the refreshment table, or helping other various citizens haul their loads.

The blonde told herself she'd be taking a much deserved break after dropping the last load of the brunette's cookies at her booth. She was tired and cold. Why they'd decided to have a bake sale in the middle of January in Maine anyway was beyond her. She'd never found herself having a hankering for a bear claw enough to brave the elements to get one. She'd rather stay home and stick to carrot sticks thank you very much. The only solace she was finding now came from the fact that she'd see Regina later today.

"Emma!"

Forgetting herself for a moment, Emma whipped her body around so fast to see who had called her that the stack in her arms shifted, but miraculously stayed put. She couldn't see who had called out to her and after a moment, she shrugged and resumed her walk. It wasn't until she nearly ran into Sister Astrid, her head down, reading items on a clipboard that she realised why someone had warned her. She moved sharply to the left to avoid taking out the nun, who walked by completely oblivious, and the stack shifted again, this time with less success. She watched in horror as the stack began to tip precariously to one side. She wiggled her body, trying to balance the stack back out. It wobbled and she found herself praying under her breath. But the containers didn't listen, tipping the right and going down, until soft hands stopped them.

"You look like you need some help." Katherine took half the stack in her arms, clearing Emma's field of vision.

She looked around and saw that she had completely misjudged where Mary Margaret's booth was. The pixie haired brunette was waving to her from all the way across the grounds in front of City Hall where the bake sale was being held. Emma nodded in acknowledgment to the brunette before she looked gratefully back at Katherine. "Thanks."

The other blonde smiled. "Don't mention it." She motioned with the boxes toward the booth Mary Margaret occupied. "Shall we?"

Emma followed the older blonde to where her roommate was arranging individually wrapped decorated sugar cookies on bright platters. She motioned for the two blondes to just set down the containers anywhere there was free space.

The second they had relieved themselves of the last of Mary Margaret's baked goods, Emma turned to Katherine. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I'm set up over there." She pointed to one of the booths closest to the walk, a choice spot compared to where Mary Margaret's booth was tucked away.

Emma fell into step beside the blonde as she made her way over to the booth. An empty one stood next to it.

Katherine caught the younger woman's line of sight. "Regina's. She's running a little behind this morning. Apparently she didn't get a full night's sleep, something about some unfinished business that kept her up late." She shrugged.

Emma turned her face away to hide the telltale blush that crept up from her neck and onto her cheeks. She knew exactly what had kept Regina up late. It had been after three in the morning when Emma had finally let her go to sleep. Petulantly, the voice in the back of her mind whispered _'but she started it'_. Even after they'd brought each other to virtual climax with their sexting, they'd stayed up just talking about everything and nothing. She now knew that Regina was allergic to strawberries and Regina knew that she preferred Fruit Loops or Kix over any other cereal. Their conversation had come to its conclusion when Regina had text **'I love you my darling, but I have to sleep'** to which Emma had replied teasingly _'lightweight'_. She hadn't gotten a reply, her companion already on her way to dreamland.

She turned her attention back to Katherine as they reached the woman's booth. Perfect lemon squares dusted in powdered sugar sat on little paper plates. It was all so quaint, the perfect small town housewife at the local bake sale. She glanced around. Everywhere there were women just like Katherine, some she'd seen around town, some she was seeing for the first time. They waved and exchanged friendly words with each other. Even Ruby, who should look out of place in her body-hugging clothes, seemed a part of the image. She belonged here. In that moment, Emma's awareness of her own presence in the place jumped to the forefront of her mind. She wasn't part of the picture. She didn't belong here. Her vision narrowed to a small bubble of space around herself as she tuned everything out, panic rising like bile in her throat. Where did she, a girl that no one wanted, fit in this picturesque place?

"Emma!" A blur in a brown wool coat slammed into her legs, making her stumble back a couple steps before she regained her balance. Little arms had her legs locked in a vice, a face buried so deeply against her hip that all she could see when she looked down was the top of a blue woolen hat.

Emma looked up from the little boy imprisoning her bottom half to see his mother walking cautiously up the walk, avoiding the random patches of ice, carrying boxes the blonde was certain contained their cupcakes. The other woman hadn't noticed her yet. Then, as she navigated her way around the worst of the frosty danger, she seemed to notice her son was no long beside her. When she looked up to search for him and their eyes met, a smile instantly graced the older woman's face. Emma couldn't help but return it. Oh yea, now she remembered, **this** is where she fit.

"Hey kid." She gently pried the boy off her legs and hefted him easily up into her arms. "I see your mom let you out of the slammer for good behaviour."

He nodded enthusiastically. "She said if my breakfast didn't make me feel bad that I could come spend some time with her and Miss Nolan at the bake sale. She didn't tell me you were going to be here though."

"That's because I didn't know she was going to be here, sweetheart." Regina finally made it over to them, setting the boxes on her little stretch of wood. "You conveniently left out that tidbit during our phone conversation."

Emma shrugged. "I didn't know at the time. Mary Margaret said she could use an extra pair of hands when she got up this morning and I figured since it was my day off and I had no other plans, why not come help out?"

"Momma, can Emma and I go play in the snow?" The bake sale was situated on half of the spacious front lawns of the City Hall. The other half of the lawn was an untouched blanket of white, broken only by the occasional trail of footprints, and separated from them by the barrier of the walk. Henry put on his best pout and Emma matched him.

Regina was struck by how similar their expressions were, as if they'd learned it together. She rolled her eyes. "Very well children, go have fun, but don't bother anyone. Best behaviour, both of you."

Henry nodded in agreement as Emma set him down. He grabbed the blonde's hand and tugged her towards the open expanse of snow. The young blonde let herself be led, a smile on her face and her focus on nothing else but the little boy tugging her along.

Katherine came to stand beside her best friend and they both watched the pair for a long moment. "She's so great with him."

Regina smiled softly, watching as Henry scooped up a handful of fresh powdered snow and tossed it happily into the air. It rained back down on him and the blonde as they laughed together. It was the most unburdened she'd seen her son in such a long time. It was so rare that he got the opportunity to just be a normal child, sometimes she forgot all together that he deserved moments like these. "Yes, she is. And he does love her so much."

"I think the feeling's mutual."

Regina couldn't deny it. All one had to do was look at the two of them together to know that the young woman loved Henry. She only wished Emma could love _her_ too.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma looked down at her pint sized co-conspirator as they crouched behind one of the hedges near the top corner of their half of the lawn. Behind them, the previously equal blanketing of snow was churned up with their boot prints and their snow angel family that they'd spent the last half hour making. Now they were spying on their target, an arsenal stacked next to them. She gave Henry a dead serious look. "Are you sure you're up for this mission, soldier?"

He gave a quick nod, his face an equal mask of seriousness.

"Know that, although the path ahead is dangerous and we may not make it out alive, what we do here today is for the good of mankind." She saluted and he repeated the gesture. Her hand gripped her perfectly formed snowball and his did the same with his own. "One, two, three, **FIRE**!"

They jumped out to either side of the hedge and sent their snowballs whirling through the air at their target. The first took the brunette in the hip, the other on her shoulder.

Ruby whirled on them, her eyes bright with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Her eyes slipped over a grinning Henry to the blonde, whose own smirk fell from her face as she saw the glint in the waitress' eye. She looked at Henry with an expression that said _'we are in for it now'_. "Abort mission. **ABORT**!" They took off running in the opposite direction just as Ruby gave chase.

Regina held up her phone from her booth, snapping pictures as her two favourite people tried to outrun Miss Lucas, easily one of the fastest people in town. The smile didn't leave Henry's face though she could tell he was losing stamina. He'd be crashing earlier than usual tonight. She considered calling the play to a halt so he could build his energy back up, but just as she was about to do just that Emma seemed to sense his trouble and scooped him up, piggy backing him as she ran for both them. All three were giggling in their fun.

"She didn't sleep last night."

Regina looked over at the brunette schoolteacher with a curious look.

"Emma. She didn't sleep at all last night. I think she has trouble sleeping when she's not with you."

The mayor pursed her lips. She wasn't sure whether she should be happy that Emma was feeling her absence just as keenly as she felt the blonde's or if she should be concerned that the woman wasn't sleeping well. Either way, she wasn't about to share her feelings one way or the other with the likes of Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"I asked her to come today because I know she's happier when she's with you and I think you're happier when she's around." She stared over to where Ruby had finally tackled Emma in the snow. Henry was playfully climbing on the young brunette's back. She sighed. "I'm only going to tell you this because I know you love her, and if you ever tell her I told you this, I'll deny it to the grave. She told me she doesn't deserve you. She's waiting for the proverbial clock to strike midnight, for the coach to turn back into a pumpkin and her life to go from spectacular back to ordinary. She's learned not to trust good things because she's lost faith that they can happen to her. That's why she keeps her distance. Want her to stick around? Convince her that your life is nothing without her, because I know that's how you feel."

"How do you know what I feel Miss Blanchard?" Normally Regina's voice would be dripping with contempt, but she couldn't seem to muster up the correct amount of venom.

"Because that look you get on your face whenever she's around... it's the same one I see on her face whenever your name comes up." Mary Margaret turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Regina to her thoughts.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It was another two hours of playing before Emma saw that the little boy had truly reached his limit. Ruby had abandoned them ninety minutes prior to resume her watch over the refreshments booth, people had been taking more than their share of the hot cocoa and coffee in her absence and she needed to regulate. So it had been Emma's suggestion that they make a snowman. Henry had never made one and the excitement on his face had melted her heart and made her ignore the numbness in her hands from creating her snowball arsenal earlier and jump right into the base of their snowman. That had been right after Ruby had left.

It had been easy to send the kid around to the bake sale patrons to collect the stuff they needed to decorate him. Pouty cancer eyes got even the coldest hearts to melt, and it didn't hurt that the kid was adorable even without having to play the cancer card. They'd found two reasonably shaped stones to suffice as eyes, a smile made of multi coloured gumballs from the top of Isabelle's confetti bars, a cap from Mr. French, a scarf from Archie. Henry had just handed her two skinny sticks that would serve as his arms and she had plunged them into his sides.

She took a step back and observed their work. He tilted just slightly to the right, but all in all, not a bad first snowman for the kid. She glanced over at Henry's face, his red nose like a beacon on his pale face. She was sure hers was just as bright, the curse of the fair skinned.

"What's his name kid?" She put an arm around the little shoulders and looked down at him.

"Carl."

She raised an eyebrow but decided to go with it. "Carl huh?"

He nodded his little head. "Come on Emma, let's go show him to Momma." He grabbed her hand and yanked her back in the direction of the booths.

She let herself be led with a smile.

"Momma!" He let go of her hand to run the last few feet to his mother.

Regina turned with a grin, bending him down to lift him up into her arms. "Hey sweetheart."

"Momma, did you see Carl? We made him." Henry beamed proudly and pointed to where their snowman was sitting across the grounds.

Regina looked over his head at Emma and mouthed '_Carl?'_ to which the blonde just shrugged. "I see him. You did such a good job."

"Why don't you go show him to your mom Henry? I'll watch the booth."

Henry slid down his mom's body to his feet and gripped her hand, pulling her towards the snowman even as Regina kept her eyes trained over her shoulder at the blonde.

Emma watched as Henry pointed out each of Carl's features and talked animatedly to his mother, who was all smiles. She bit her lip to stifle a giddy smile before glancing back over to her roommate. Mary Margaret was watching her with a knowing smile from across the yard. She realised then her roommate's plan. She hadn't truly needed Emma there, they'd barely had the opportunity to talk since they had arrive nearly five hours ago. No, Mary Margaret had brought her here for _this_, to show her why she'd been unable to sleep, why she'd been feeling out of sorts. She inclined her head in acknowledgment and turned her attention back to the mayor and her son.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina set her son down in the foyer, gripping his hand to keep him steady as he swayed a little on his feet. She closed the door and set down the one box with the four remaining unsold cupcakes on the foyer table. She led Henry upstairs and helped him change into his pajamas. He needed a bath after all his running around but that would have to wait until after he had a nap; he was beat from all the activity of the day.

"Will Emma be here soon Momma?" He crawled into bed and curled up beneath his blankets, yawning.

"I hope so sweetheart." She didn't have the heart to tell him that Emma had returned home with Mary Margaret and wouldn't return to the mayoral mansion until she was set to start work again the following afternoon.

He smiled and nodded, his eyes already closed.

She leaned in and kissed his forehead before silently turning off the light and leaving him to his nap. She had maybe three hours before he would be up for a late dinner. She went downstairs and collected the cupcakes from the foyer table and carried them into the kitchen, feeling her phone like a lead brick in her pants pocket.

It wouldn't do to call Miss Swan now. The blonde had left them with a gentle kiss to the top of Henry's head and an embrace for the brunette that was entirely too short. Then she had run off to go back to the flat with the schoolteacher. For a long moment Regina had regretted ever suggesting that the blonde live with Mary Margaret Blanchard. But she had been so afraid that Emma wouldn't come if she had suggested that they live together. But now she felt as if she should have taken the risk.

She retired to her parlour with a glass of wine and the first budget proposal of the year.

It was just over an hour and twelve pages in when she heard the knock. Her brow furrowed in confusion and she set the wine glass down on the side table, standing and moving into the foyer and to the front door. She peered out the paneled window beside the door, her eyes going wide when she saw a familiar figure on the stoop. She threw the door open. Emma stood on the stoop, shivering in the dark and frigid air. Her blonde curls were glittering in the light spilling out from the foyer with the frost that had settled on them, her skin flushed from the cold. Her breath was visible before her in little white clouds with every exhalation. She was wringing her gloved hands together as if she were trying to rub feeling back into them. She looked at the brunette, who was staring at her in silent question, before looking at her hands. "Miss Swan?"

The blonde looked unsure for a frozen moment in time. Emma stepped in, getting so close to the brunette that Regina could almost feel the frost against her skin.

Regina inhaled sharply, her breath frozen there in her lungs.

Emma looked up at the older woman through her lashes before closing the distance and crashing their lips with a desperation that both women were finally willing to acknowledge.

Regina curled her fist in the front of the blonde's coat, pulling her in out of the cold. With her free hand, she shut the door and locked the deadbolt, her lips never leaving the blonde's for even a moment.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews make my poor little hand write faster. proven fact.


	18. Saving The World One Bath At A Time

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: going on holiday in a week and a half, so hopefully i can post another chapter before then and then i'll be writing a lot while i'm gone. hopefully i'll have more updates when i return, though march is going to be the busiest month of the year at work. i shall post as i can. thank you to all who've stuck with this story and reviewed. i am blessed.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 18: Saving The World One Bath At A Time**

Regina leaned back against the refrigerator absentmindedly stirring her tea as she watched the blonde sitting on the central island, scrutinizing the cupcake in her hand, her legs kicking back and forth subconsciously like a child. She slowly began to lick the frosting off the top of the cupcake, her pink tongue scooping up every last bit of it before she examined the now naked cupcake. Next she pulled off only the top that the frosting had been resting on like lifting a lid off a box, eating each chunk as she tore it up, revealing a hollow cake with cherry filling in the middle. She then scooped up the cherry filling with a finger, sucking the digit into her mouth to clean it of its contraband. Lastly she finally ate the hollowed out bowl that was the bottom of the cupcake, smiling in satisfaction as she swallowed the last piece and tossed the empty foil cupcake wrapper into the rubbish bin. Regina had only seen one other person eat a cupcake that way in her life.

"You're staring." Emma wiped self-consciously at her face, already convinced she must have frosting streaked across it.

Regina smiled. "You dissect your cupcakes. Henry does that too.

Emma grinned. "Really?" She was more pleased than she cared to admit that the kid did something just like her, even if it was something a menial as how they consumed empty calories of frosting and cake.

Regina raised an eyebrow as she pushed away from the refrigerator. "So... Miss Swan, are you ready to tell me what brought you to my doorstep this evening and caused you to kiss me? Despite what you have previously insisted, I'm not very convinced that it is the unsold cupcakes as you claimed." She rested her hip against the island beside the blonde, who looked at her with bright green eyes that were desperately trying not to betray the fear she was feeling.

"I..." Emma looked down at her hands. Regina's gaze was too intense, too imploring. She wasn't really sure what she was doing here. She had gone home with Mary Margaret, still riding the high of her day playing in the snow with Henry, content to return after her shift at the station the next day. But the second they walked into the flat, her high had left her, whooshing out of her system in one fell swoop. The withdrawal that had followed was so intense she hadn't been able to sit still. She'd paced her room, then the living room, she'd taken a shower, ate a bowl of cereal, tried and failed to do yoga in the living room. By the time she started playing a drum solo on the dining table, Mary Margaret was practically pushing her out the door. She hadn't needed any more incentive than that first little push.

Her car was still at Regina's since she had first walked to the flat from their dinner at Granny's the night before and she'd had to tramp the two kilometres from the flat to the mayoral mansion through the snow and cold air. It had done little to wear down on the restlessness she was feeling. Being out in the frigid air only served to make her more desperate to be with the brunette. She had spent the whole trek trying to decipher what kind of spell the mayor had put her under. She prided herself on never needing anyone. If there was one thing Emma Swan had made sure she became in the last five years, it was self sufficient. She had no need of anybody. So why was it becoming so hard to exist outside of the presence of Regina Mills?

"Emma... it's alright darling, you can tell me." Regina stepped up directly in front of the blonde, whose legs stopped kicking and immediately spread to allow the woman to step up between them, which she promptly did. Regina put a hand to her chin and directed her gaze back up. "You're safe with me. You know that, don't you?"

**Safety**. **Belonging**. **Family**. **Love**. All the words Emma cherished above all others, and this woman was offering her them all. Regina wanted to give her everything she'd always been looking for, and everything she'd always been running from.

But, by nature, Emma knew that every offer that sounded too good to be true generally was. There was no way this could be real. This woman who, by the accounts of everyone in town, was withdrawn and cautious, suspicious by nature... there was no way she could want some orphan barely in her twenties. Regina was dignified, sophisticated, beautiful. She was a mother and a politician. She didn't have sexcapades with women over five years her junior. This couldn't be real. Fairytales didn't happen in the real world.

Regina was trying to be patient but the blonde's continued silence was fraying her nerves. Emma seemed so fragile, made of glass and quick to shatter. She seemed to be balancing on the edge, teetering back and forth towards the safety of fleeing and the unknown of letting go. "I would never intentionally hurt you Emma." She stroked the blonde's cheek, willing the younger woman to believe her.

The words plugged up the doubt flooding Emma's mind like a dam. She detected no lie in the brunette's words. Regina meant them. It didn't mean things couldn't change with time, most things did. One day, down the road, the brunette could easily change her mind. But right now, in the present, Regina had no plans to destroy her. It soothed her knowing that, even as it scared her also knowing that Regina already held the power to destroy her. She looked into Regina's eyes. "Regina, I..."

A thump from upstairs shook the ceiling and the women heard a door open. Henry was awake.

Their moment gone for now, Emma hopped down off the island and walked towards the kitchen corridor to meet the little boy in the foyer.

Regina felt her heart sink. They had been so close; she had seen that Emma was ready to finally lower her walls. And just like that, they'd become more enforced.

Emma turned at the door and stared back at the brunette who was leaning on her arms against the island, her head bent in defeat. "Regina... I am yours. I know I belong here. I'm _yours_. That's why I came back." She cleared her throat. "To answer your earlier question."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina quietly stared down at the potatoes she was peeling and cubing, dropping the square chunks into a pot of water to cook. They'd be having dinner late but she couldn't find it in her to care. Emma had taken Henry upstairs for his bath. They hadn't spoken since he'd woken up thirty minutes earlier. She didn't know what she could say, what there was left for her to do to convince Emma that she was safe here. But she knew she was determined to find out. Emma couldn't leave, not now, not in twenty four weeks, not ever.

The potatoes would take time. She washed her hands, drying them off on her apron as she exited the kitchen. Light spilled out in the upstairs hall from the open door of the bathroom between Henry's room and the guest room Emma claimed as her own, though she'd spent less time there than she had in Regina's bed. Sounds of battle, booms and pows, were emitting from the room.

Regina raised an eyebrow and went up the stairs to investigate. She peeked into the bathroom.

Inside the room, her son sat, his back leaning against one end of the porcelain tub. On his head was a crown of suds, a matching beard of suds clinging to his chin. Emma Swan was sitting on the lip of the other end of the tub, her jeans rolled up to the knee so she could stick her legs into the warm bubble bath. She dipped her hand down into the abyss of the suds and produced another foam shape, sticking it against the tile wall beside them, where three robot shapes already resided. The new shape was a red and blue robot.

Emma grinned. "It's Optimus Prime, come to save the Prince of Storybrooke and all his subjects from destruction."

Henry's grin matched the blonde's as he pointed a wet finger at a different robot. "Take that Megatron! Get out of my realm!"

Emma pushed the Optimus Prime foam piece across the wall until it reached the one Henry was pointing at and used it to knock the latter off the wall; it fell back into the sudsy oblivion of the tub.

Henry cheered.

Emma gave a little bow. "Your realm is safe once more, my Prince."

Regina cleared her throat. Her heart was already a melted puddle in her chest.

Both the occupants of the room looked up. Emma pulled her legs up out of the tub and set them down on the towel she'd placed on the ground to catch any accidental spills, wiping the suds off with a corner of the cloth. She stood and walked over to the brunette in the doorway, looking sheepish and guilty.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty five minutes."

Emma nodded. "I promise, he'll be washed and ready." She turned to go back into the bathroom.

Regina reached out and caught the blonde's arm, pulling her out of view and earshot of her son. "Will you give _me_ a bubble bath later Miss Swan?" She smiled as seductively as she could manage in an apron.

Emma raised a golden eyebrow. "Well that depends, do I get to help save the world again?" She grinned teasingly.

Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, pulling her in close. "I think we'll just skip to the part where the rescued damsel shows you how eternally grateful she is." She leaned in and pressed her lips softly against the blonde's.

Emma's eyes fell closed. The kiss was unhurried, gentle, sweet. It was over too soon. She smiled shyly. "That's my favourite part."

"Emma, the water's getting cold!"

The younger woman reluctantly pulled herself from the brunette's embrace, backing towards the bathroom. "Twenty five minutes, we'll be downstairs." She disappeared into the bright room, leaving Regina to sigh and head back down to check on the potatoes.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma kept stealing glances at the brunette who was at the head of the dining room table. Henry was sitting across from Emma, to Regina's right, leaving her in the seat to the brunette's left. The young boy had been awfully chatty with Regina about playing in the snow, allowing the blonde her secret glances as she picked at her food with her fork.

They looked the part of a family, sitting around the dining room table, enjoying dinner together like they were. She was too embarrassed to admit it to Regina, but she hadn't eaten dinner at a dining room table since the days of Lillian. For those few months that she was in her care, she'd had the closest thing to a normal life she'd ever known... until now.

In her other foster homes, she'd take her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that she'd make for herself to the room she shared with the other foster kids, or out to the porch, and she'd eat by herself. She wasn't used to eating around other people, and for many years she wasn't used to eating at all.

A hand landing on her thigh snapped her out of her thoughts. She didn't dare look up at the brunette, who was rubbing her knee soothingly, but she couldn't stop the upward quirk of her lips at the gesture. After a minute that seemed entirely too short, the hand was withdrawn as if it had never even been there. Emma tried to focus on what the kid was saying instead of missing the contact.

As soon as Henry was done, Emma found herself jumping up to carry his and her plate into the kitchen, ignoring Regina's objections. Emma was used to doing dishes; she liked doing dishes. She disappeared through the door into the kitchen, knocking off the uneaten food into the rubbish bin and starting the water in the sink.

Regina watched as Emma scooped up the dirty dishes and disappeared into the kitchen. "Henry, why don't you go upstairs and start a movie, any one you want. Emma and I will be up as soon as we've cleaned things up down here, okay?"

The little boy didn't need to be told twice. A movie meant at least another hour and a half that he got to stay up. He hopped down from his chair, pushed it in, and ran for the stairs.

Regina sighed, gathering up the leftovers and carrying them through the two-way door.

She heard the door opening behind her as someone came through but she wouldn't turn around and face the brunette. She had done nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed of. Regina was the one expecting her to change everything she'd known, everything she'd grown up with. She had a right to feel unsettled by how drastically her life had changed since she'd met the brunette. There was nothing wrong with it.

Regina set the dishes on the island. Emma's back was tensed, her hands digging into the sink on either side. She was preparing herself to be reprimanded. That was the last thing Regina wanted to do. She just wanted to know where their dinner went wrong. She thought it had been going so well. She opened the pantry and retrieved some storage containers and started putting in the leftovers.

When long minutes passed with no words from the brunette and it became apparent the older woman was waiting for her to say something, she shut off the water, turned and leaned back against the sink, her arms crossed protectively in front of her chest. She stared down at her boots for a long moment, contemplating her words before she looked up. Regina was still putting away the leftovers as if nothing were amiss. "I'm sorry."

The brunette looked up as she put a lid on the last container and carried them over to the refrigerator. "Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong."

Emma let out a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. Regina wasn't mad. That was a relief. "I guess I'm sorry that these things... family things, they aren't as easy for me as they are for other people."

Regina nodded, staying near the refrigerator, giving Emma her space. "I've been expecting a lot from you Emma. I keep setting these goals for you, and every time you exceed my expectations. I don't want to take you for granted, so if you ever feel like I'm pushing too hard or too fast, just let me know. I don't want to push so hard that I push you away."

Seeing the vulnerable look on the brunette's face caused an immediate reaction in the blonde. She was across the distance between them in two strides, pulling the mayor into her arms. "Thank you." She buried her face against the older woman's shoulder.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina closed the door behind her as she entered her bedroom. Henry's nap had been so late that she knew getting him back down for the night was going to be a chore. He'd made her read three stories before he'd even agree to let her leave the room, let alone actually consent to closing his eyes and sleeping. The light from the en suite was on and she figured that was where Emma was. She turned her back towards the door, opening the top drawer on her dresser to pull out her pajamas. "Is it awful that I am not looking forward to work tomorrow? I haven't even been back a full week and here I am complaining about not having more time off."

"You work too hard. You deserve more breaks."

Regina smiled and turned at the sound of the blonde's voice. Emma was leaning in the doorway of the en suite. The pajamas dropped from Regina's hand as she caught sight of the blonde. Emma was completely nude, her hair swept up into a messy bun. Her throat felt suddenly dry.

The blonde grinned at Regina's speechlessness. "I believe I promised you a bubble bath Madam Mayor." She beckoned the brunette with a finger before disappearing back into the bathroom, confidently knowing that Regina would follow.

Regina pulled at her clothes, peeling them off as she made a beeline for the bathroom, until she too stood bare in the smaller room. Emma stood at the edge of the freestanding claw foot tub. She was looking coyly over her shoulder at the brunette before she dipped one leg into the water, followed closely by the other and then she was sinking down into the warmth.

Regina closed the bathroom door, locking it, just in case Henry really wasn't asleep and got any ideas about seeing what she was up to. She came across the tiled floor until she stood beside the tub. Her eyes never left the green ones watching her as she slowly climbed in, easing herself down into the warm bubbly water. She positioned herself between the blonde's legs, leaning back against the younger woman's chest, her head falling back lazily onto the strong shoulder behind it, the warmth of the water and the close proximity of the blonde instantly relaxing her.

Emma kissed the long expanse of throat that Regina's position was freely offering up. Her arms wound loosely around the woman's waist, stroking absentminded patterns on the flesh of her stomach with her fingertips.

Regina relaxed back against her younger lover, letting every last ounce of tension leave her body. She scooped up a handful of the suds floating around on the surface of the bath water before bringing her hand to her mouth and blowing them up into the air like she was blowing a kiss. "I will be gone all next Saturday. I have to go back to Boston for the January group meeting."

Emma nodded. "And you need me to watch Henry on my day off? That's not a problem." Maybe she'd take him out for a short walk, let him get some air. With the exception of the bake sale, he hadn't really been out of the house.

"Actually Miss Swan, I was hoping you'd accompany me... as my girlfriend. I'm sure Gaby and Ms. Teague would love to see you. And it could be nice to get out of town. Portland is bigger than Storybrooke, but let's face it, it's still small as far as cities go. It'll be nice for you to see a building over twenty stories high. We could make a second date of it, if you want to. I could take you somewhere nice after group is over."

Emma was quick to agree. She didn't even have to think about it. "On one condition."

The corner of Regina's mouth turned up in a smile. "Which is?"

"You leave the date to me. It's my turn to show you a good time." She leaned down to suck on Regina's pulse point, already confident she'd get her way.

Regina bit her lip and nodded, too afraid to chance speaking without moaning too. Emma's hand was slowly tracing those patterns lower and lower and the brunette's mind was starting to fray at the edges, coherent thoughts becoming something of the past.

Emma smiled against Regina's neck as she gently rubbed over the skin of her thighs, made all the more velvety by the water, urging her to part them and give her access.

Regina turned her head lazily on the blonde's shoulder to look up into green eyes as she complied with the younger woman's silent request, parting her thighs and giving her entrance to the space between.

Even in the water, she could tell Regina was wet and wanting. Her fingers played delicately over the flesh of the woman's folds as she stared into her brown eyes, dark with arousal, all her underwater activities hidden from their view by the bubbles still covering the surface.

Regina felt first one and then another finger teasing at her opening. She had to fight with herself not to beg for the touch. She had never found begging very becoming for someone of her station, but if Emma demanded it, she knew she'd give over to it in a heartbeat. However, the blonde didn't need to know that. Not yet.

Emma slid two fingers deep into a warmth much more scorching than the water of the bath. Her own head fell back against the lip of the tub at the feeling of being once more inside Regina Mills. There was no place she'd rather be in this moment.

"Oh _Emma_." The brunette finally found her voice again. She urged her hips forward, farther onto the hand between her legs, causing a ripple across the surface of the bath that nearly crested over the lip and spilled out onto the floor. Regina didn't care. The second Emma started moving inside her, there'd be no hope of keeping the water where it belonged.

Emma smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Regina's temple as she withdrew her fingers enough that they almost slipped from the older woman entirely before thrusting them back in. The resulting moan, a soft breathy thing, the brunette emitted caused heat to flood between Emma's own thighs. She would be a happy woman if she could cause Regina to make that sound over and over again forever. She started her rhythm out slow, the water and Regina's own wetness working as a natural lubricant, making sliding in and out of her effortless.

Regina rose to meet each gentle thrust. Her nipples hardened where they sat just below the surface despite the warm heat of the bath. She felt Emma's other arm wrap tightly around her torso to hold her steady, inadvertently brushing across the taut peaks. She groaned and she felt Emma smirk against her hair as her free hand caressed her sensitive breasts, brushing over her erect nipples, pulling on them gently.

Emma was quickly becoming unsatisfied with her slower pace. She brought a third finger in to join the other two moving in and out of Regina without so much as a blink, increasing her pace substantially.

"Oh God yes, my darling." She swept her arm up, hooking it around Emma's neck, needing to feel close to the blonde as well as to ground herself. She picked up the pace of her hips, meeting the blonde thrust for thrust. Her other hand covered the one that was still toying with her breasts, entwining her fingers with the younger woman's and bringing them back down to her waist.

Emma brushed her thumb across Regina's clit on her next inward thrust, causing the brunette's hips to jump. She pressed down on the little bundle of nerves, circling roughly against it.

Regina tried to keep her cry from being too loud as she came undone around Emma's fingers. Her body arched off the one beneath it, her thighs clamping together to hold the blonde's finger inside her, as fireworks seemed to explode behind her eyes. A serene smile crossed her face as she floated back down against the blonde beneath her. It always felt so wonderful with Emma, unlike anyone before. She released her thigh's death grip on the blonde's hand, allowing her to withdraw if she so wished. She smiled when Emma lingered for a little while longer as if loathe to leave. Finally, she did slip free, wrapping the arm back around the older woman's waist and pulling her back against her, kissing her shoulder.

Emma went back to tracing senseless patterns on the skin of her stomach as if none of it had even happened. The water was still lukewarm and she wanted to enjoy what was left of the bath before the temperature forced them to retreat.

Regina sighed in contentment, turning on her side so she could curl up in Emma's lap, nuzzling the blonde's neck. "I love you Emma." She gripped the blonde's chin and dragged her mouth down to hers, swallowing up the pressure of the silence that was sure to make the moment awkward. She knew Emma wasn't there yet, but she was determined to remind her every single day that she wanted her here, with no expectations.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror. A toothbrush was sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she stared at the reflection of her scarred abdomen. Her finger traced along the dark horizontal scar as she remembered the last time she'd let herself entertain the idea of being a family with someone other than herself.

It had never gone well for her, that word. Family. Her first one hadn't wanted her, leaving her abandoned. If not for the little boy who'd carried her into the diner, the boy who could possibly be her brother, who knows what would have happened to her. And then, all her wishing and dreaming, her bright smiles for every potential adopter, every try she gave it at a foster home only to be sent back for one reason or another. Most of the time they weren't even looking to take care of their charges, just using the kids as a payday. Take another kid and that's another nice stipend from the government each month, nevermind that the bulk of that check doesn't even go to the child it's meant for.

And then Lillian. They'd really had a shot at being a family. It was just the two of them in that house, and at first, they'd given each other a wide berth, respecting boundaries. But eventually, she'd worn Emma down, one day crawling into the closet where Emma liked to hide and sitting with her in the dark. They didn't say one word. Eventually, Lillian had turned on a flashlight and proceeded to make shadow puppets in the light until, before she knew what was happening, she was doing them herself. She never went back in that closet unless Lillian went with her. But then she went away too, and though deep down Emma knew it wasn't her fault, there was a still a part of her that was angry with the woman for abandoning her just like everyone else had. It was then that she promised herself that she would always leave before she could be left. And she'd stuck to that.

Even him. She traced the scar once more, her finger sliding back and forth over the damaged skin. He'd been a surprise to say the least. She'd never even thought about whether kids were something she wanted in her future or not, whether she'd ever be able to take care of another human being. She had barely been able to take care of herself at the time, using street performing just to make enough money to get by, working whenever and wherever she could. She'd been desperate for anyone who could understand her, and she thought she'd found that. She thought it was love. But it hadn't been, and looking back, she realised it was the desperation playing with her mind that had ever led her to believe it was anything more than what it ended up being, two strangers who walked the same path for a while.

But he'd left her with more than emotional scars. He'd left her with a little miracle. She hadn't called the baby that at first. She'd cursed its existence, labeling it as nothing more than an inconvenience too many times to count. Being on the move all the time kept her fairly thin, her belly actually taking on one of those cute low hanging swells, until her last month, when it seemed that all the weight she'd missed out on finally caught up with her.

By the time her water broke, she had decided to keep him. She'd nicknamed him Bug and he was going to be either Jack, Toby, or Luke. She'd spent hours at the public library pouring over baby name books to narrow it down to those three. She had bought a stroller, a basinet, and a convertible car seat from the secondhand store down the block from her sad excuse for an flat that more closely resembled a walk in closet with a kitchenette and a bathroom. But it was home; it'd be their home. She had this fairytale in her mind of being for him what her biological parents had never been for her. How could she abandon him when she herself had been abandoned?

It wasn't until the moment she held him in her arms for the first time that she decided to give him up. The second they set that little bundle in her arms, her life, her desires, fell away. She'd never wanted to protect something so much as she did that little boy. The world stopped revolving around her and he became the sun in her universe; she revolved around him. And she knew, with her walk in closet and her lack of education and her propensity to run at the first sign of trouble, that she was not what he needed. He deserved more than her. It was hard to face that truth, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are one and the same.

She'd insisted on keeping him with her until they found an adequate match. She didn't know much about the adopting party, but all that mattered was that he would go some place where he was loved, that he'd have a great life. She wanted that for him. He deserved more than she could give him; it wasn't his fault he'd ended up her kid. Of all the things she'd done in her life, that was the only choice she had no doubt she'd made right. She'd done right by him, if nothing else could be said about her life. She'd loved her child and because she'd loved him, she'd let him be happy, she'd let him go.

And now, by some twist of fate, she was having that word dangled before her eyes once more. Family. She wanted it. She may still not be able to shout it from the rooftops, or even admit it outside of the confines of her mind just yet, but she wanted it. She wanted this woman and her little boy. She wanted the life she'd missed out on, the life she'd sacrificed. She wanted the chance to be better than what she expected of herself. She wanted to be the woman Regina came home to; she wanted to be Henry's mom. Regina was offering her what she'd always dreamed of having on a silver platter, all she had to do was reach out and take it. But she couldn't help feeling like doing so might betray the one person who she kept locked away in her heart. She continued to trace her scar thoughtfully. Would she have to push him out to make room to let them in? Was it fair to be someone else's mom when she hadn't been his?

"Darling?"

Emma ripped her hand away from the scar on her abdomen as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar and turned wide eyes to the brunette in the doorway. How long had she been standing there? Emma felt panic seize her chest. She pulled the toothbrush from her mouth and spit the excess toothpaste into the sink, turning on the water and gathering some in her cupped hand, bringing it up to swirl around in her mouth and again spitting it out. She couldn't look at Regina, couldn't stay composed under her scrutiny.

She heard the brunette approach but she kept her eyes down. Hands slid up her back, dragging up and down a few times before they wrapped around her waist and a half naked body pressed against her back. Regina must have put her silk pajama pants on at some point, but she was still topless, her breasts pressing against Emma's upper back. Her hair was pushed aside and draped over a shoulder as urgent kisses were pressed to the back of her neck.

"Will you tell me what's on your mind?"

It was a soft request and, as with most of Regina's requests, she knew it would be alright if she refused. Regina wouldn't hold it against her, but she knew that the older woman would secretly be disappointed. She never wanted to disappoint her. "Old decisions that have been haunting me recently. The last time I had the opportunity to have a family more specifically."

Regina didn't want to push, but she figured that Emma must be talking about the foster mother who had wanted to adopt her, but had passed away before having the chance. She had no idea how wrong she was. "We... Henry and I, we aren't trying to take anyone's place. I want you in my life Emma, whatever part of you you're willing to give me."

Emma turned, leaning back against the bathroom sink as she looked up at the brunette through her lashes. "What if I want to give you all of me?"

Regina's breath caught in her throat.

"I'm just struggling a little with the how, but it is something I want. I want a family. I want you Regina, and I want Henry. I need you to know that. I want this."

Regina reached for Emma's hand and pulled her towards the door of the bathroom.

Emma frowned. "Where are we going?"

"To bed."

Emma felt a shiver run through her body in anticipation. She let herself be led to the bed where she was pushed down onto the duvet. She crawled back against the pillows. Regina got in beside her and laid down, beckoning for Emma to straddle her, which was a request she promptly obeyed.

Regina took a long moment to just gaze up at the woman towering over her, her eyes traveling over every visible inch of her. Did Miss Swan truly not realise how beautiful she was? How lucky Regina felt? Her hands traveled up strong thighs and then her sides before greedily grabbing at her breasts, kneading the flesh.

Emma's hands covered Regina's holding them against her chest as she moaned low in her throat. Her breasts had always been sensitive, having Regina play with them was sending her thoughts into a frenzy.

Regina took her time teasing Emma's nipples to hardened awareness before finally dropping her hands back to Emma's hips. She pulled on them, urging the blonde upward.

Emma instantly caught the brunette's meaning. She bit her lip to suppress another moan. She looked at the brunette questioningly.

Regina nodded. "I want to taste you."

Emma crawled on her knees up the brunette's torso until she was positioned over the brunette's face. The view down her tingling body to Regina's face caused a new flood of wetness to pool between her thighs.

The blonde's scent was driving her mad, combined with the sight of the woman staring down her lean body at her, it was almost more than she could take. Her fingers dug into the skin of Emma's thighs, dragging the younger woman's core down to her mouth, licking the entirety of her length before dipping into her entrance, her tongue sinking into the source of her wetness.

Emma's hips jumped in response. She felt Regina's nails dig in deeper and she tried to remain still as the brunette fed on her sex. That tongue moving inside her caused her body to tremble ever so slightly and she reached for the ivory fabric headboard to stabalise herself.

Regina pulled her tongue from the blonde's entrance and swirled it around her clit, sucking the small bundle between her lips, eliciting a gasp from the blonde above her. She dragged her teeth softly over the sensitive nub before pressing down against it with the flat of her tongue. The sweet sounds emitting from the blonde's throat caused her to bury her face deeper against the younger woman.

Emma was so close. Regina gave two more firm sucks of her clit and she was tumbling over the edge into orgasmic bliss. She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the cry that wanted to escape her throat before collapsing beside Regina on the bed. Her chest heaved for several long seconds as she tried to get her breathing back under control. As soon as she regained some sense of normalcy, she was searching for Regina's lips, licking her essence off of them.

Regina bit at the blonde's bottom lip before pulling back. She crawled under the duvet and held it up for Emma to crawl under beside her. One quick flick of the bedside lamp and their bodies were once again wrapped up in each other. They lay, facing each other, their limbs a tangled mess. And as she started to drift off, Regina couldn't comprehend how she had ever been able to sleep any other way.


	19. The Mayor Mills Effect

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of it's characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: i thought the best way to better for the torture that was my day would be to post a chapter. it always perks me up. this didn't go in the direction i thought it would, but i like it all the same. more to come soon, when i can post.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 19: The Mayor Mills Effect**

Emma sat on top of the duvet, her legs tucked under her, the silk pajama top that Regina hadn't bothered to put on the night before protecting her modesty. She watched silently as the brunette slept, a peaceful smile on her face. Regina truly was beautiful in sleep, unworried and serene. The hardships in her life left her in slumber, Emma could read that on her face. It was her freedom from everything, the only time she found pause.

She looked at the window where the sun was just peeking up over the horizon. Their day would start soon. The world would come crashing back in as it always did. The stillness of this moment in this room would be shattered. Life would resume. For the first time in a long time, Emma detested the dawn.

Regina watched the blonde, framed in the golden light of the dawn streaming in through the window. She looked beautiful haloed by the light, like some ethereal being that had no place outside of a dream. The younger woman hadn't noticed her wake, she was too deep in her thoughts. Not for the first time, Regina wished she could crawl into Emma's head, to know what she was thinking in all these times of silence. She was beginning to realise that Emma Swan was so much like the jigsaw puzzles she adored, comprised of so many fragmented pieces. She was letting Regina see them only one at a time. Patience had never been so pertinent in her life before.

She reached across the duvet slowly, her fingers slipping over the silk of the pajama top, tangling in it and pulling to urge the blonde closer, unintentionally pulling the bottom three buttons loose.

Emma glanced down at her hand and the small part in the silk with a lazy smile. She could get used to this. She could love this. She could love **her**.

She reached out, wrapping a hand around the tan skin of a delicate wrist before her fingertips slid up her forearm, over the inside of her elbow, across the muscles of her upper arm, around the curve of her shoulder, up the gentle arch of her throat, finally coming to cup her cheek. She ran her thumb softly over the brunette's full lips, smiling as the brunette placed a sweet kiss to its pad as it passed.

The world fell away around them, nothing existing beyond the space which they occupied. Regina could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, her pulse like thunder in the silence that had enveloped her bed. She had never been so hyper-aware of her own body in her life. The surface of her skin prickled with sensation as if it could suddenly feel the barest weight of the air pressing against it all at once.

Emma was struck by how content she was in that moment, how unafraid of this she was, when every experience from her past was screaming that she should be. She should be terrified. But love and all it entailed didn't seem so scary when the trade off was the dark intensity of brown eyes, the perfect imperfection of a well-placed lip scar, the curving fullness of berry wine lips, the delicate arch of a dark eyebrow, the tan expanse of throat and clavicle. Regina was exquisite, not just impeccable in her beauty, but also unmatched in the warmth with which she embraced and sheltered those whom she considered worthy. Maybe, for perhaps the first time in her life, Emma Swan had found something more important than her fear, something worth...

The blaring of the bedside alarm shattered their loaded silence, causing whatever revelations were flitting around the blonde's mind of surrender to be barricaded back behind her walls. She withdrew the hand still cupping Regina's cheek as if the contact burned her, pulling it back against herself.

Regina glared at the alarm clock in accusation, her hand coming down on the snooze button with more force than was necessary, causing the clock to hop a little at the impact before settling back down into its former position, now silent. The brunette's head swivelled back around to look at Emma, desperate to get their moment back. She had seen so much in green eyes just a moment ago, an acceptance that she hadn't seen from the younger woman before. She could almost see the blonde conceding her internal battle, opening the gate to let Regina in past the walls. Now that look was gone, retreated into the depths of sage green, the walls as strong as ever.

Unwilling to completely lose what little ground she'd gained, she once more tugged on the fabric of the pajama top, urging her closer. As her hand tangled in the fabric she felt the bare flesh of the woman's abdomen where the buttons had parted. She stroked it with the backs of the fingers still tangled in the silk.

Emma stared down at the hand for a long moment, letting the gentle stroking soothe her, lulling her back into a sense of calm that only Regina seemed able to guide her to. She stopped the hands ministrations, but only to lift it to her lips so she could pepper kisses across knuckles, fingertips, palm, and finally a firm kiss to the back of her hand. She brought the hand up and pressed it against her own cheek, holding it there as she let her eyes fall closed. She turned her face enough to press one more kiss to the open palm and then a little lower to nip at the pulse thumping steadily in the brunette's wrist.

The snooze reached its allotted expiration with a loud click followed by the inevitable blaring of the alarm once more. Emma was half surprised that the glare Regina gave the little machine wasn't enough to make it spontaneously combust, or at the very least shut up for fear of death. Emma beat her to the punch though, crawling over her to grab the little device.

Regina's mind completely tuned out the alarm as she looked up to see Emma on all fours above her, her attention solely on shutting up the clock. She lifted her hands and began to work on the buttons, popping them apart one by one, even as Miss Swan pulled the battery cover off the back of the digital clock. The blonde was plucking the batteries out just as Regina freed the last button, parting the fabric with her hands, giving her an unobstructed view of the nude body beneath, breasts seeming to hang down towards her like the most forbidden fruit, the blonde curls at the apex of her thighs shining softly in the golden light of dawn as the hair on her head still did. She craned her neck upward, wrapping her tongue around the deputy's left nipple and sucking it into the heat of her mouth.

Emma, just now taking attention of the brunette's actions beneath her, tossed the batteries over her shoulder, followed closely by the alarm clock itself, too distracted with the brunette suckling her to really care about damaging it; she could buy her a new one if any harm came to it. She raised an arm so she could shrug out of the sleeve, and then repeated the action with the other side, thankful that her motions never once caused the brunette to stop.

Regina finally let go, her head falling back down to the pillow to observe her handiwork. The nipple she had just released was dark and swollen with her attentions, its twin still pink and unaware. She decided to quickly rectify the situation and lurched up to latch onto the unattended nipple, sucking all the more hard at Emma's sharp intake of breath. Her hands, no longer content to be idle slid up and down the skin of Emma's hips, nails dragging over them to the curve of her ass and back again, finally wrapping behind powerful thighs and dragging her forward, pushing her up her body which brought her breast more into her mouth.

Emma, gaining some semblance of coherent thought, tugged at the duvet between them, clawing it down Regina's body so she could slide beneath it and onto the brunette.

Regina released her breast and helped her in her task by kicking at the duvet with her bare feet until they had lowered it enough that Emma could slide her legs underneath. She draped her body over the brunette's and they both sighed in relief at the skin to skin contact as if it had been ages since either of them was able to feel the other. Once again she had the blonde straddling her, the length of her body laid out flat across her, every inch of their torsos pressed together as their mouths finally met hungrily. She could feel her own arousal coating the tops of her inner thighs as her tongue swept into the blonde's mouth.

Emma moaned as Regina's tongue found hers, a vibrating hum that moved from her mouth into the brunette's. She let the older woman feast on her mouth for several minutes more before she pulled away, smirking as Regina growled in discontent, pouting like a petulant child up at her. She placed a quick kiss to the pouting lips before crawling down, her fingers latching into the waistband of the pajama bottoms. It made her slick between her own thighs when she saw just how wet Regina was; she had soaked through the silk of the pants, the material visibly clinging to her skin. She placed a conciliatory kiss to the brunette's hip bone in apology for ignoring a need that was obviously so desperate.

Regina whimpered. Emma's hands were at her hips, her mouth was pressing at the jut of her hipbone just over the barrier of silk, but neither was where she needed her. She tilted her hips up in offering, silently begging for Emma to either bring her fingers or mouth to that throbbing space between her thighs before she imploded from the tension.

Emma didn't torture the woman; she stripped the silk pajama bottoms from her, tossing them somewhere in the vicinity of the alarm clock, the corner where all dead things were exiled. She stared down at the mayor's glistening sex for a long moment, unconsciously licking her lips.

Regina let out a purr of approval as she watched the blonde's heated gaze and saw the darting swipe of a pink tongue over her lips. This was the moment of poised anticipation before the pounce and she felt herself shiver as she waited for the moment of attack.

Emma stratagised the best plan of attack in her mind before starting with the left thigh, pushing on the brunette's knee gently and licking off the smeared arousal with soft strokes of her tongue. She could hear Regina panting and tried not to smirk at the effect she was having on the older woman. As soon as she had cleaned the left good and well, she switched sides, repeating the process at a maddeningly slow pace on the right thigh.

Regina had stretched her legs wide of her own accord, practically begging Emma with her actions to move just a little north to the source of her arousal.

Emma flashed Regina a sweet smile before leaning down and pressing her lips through soaked folds to place a gentle kiss to the mayor's clit.

Regina's hips shot somewhere in the vicinity of the stratosphere, launching so far off the bad that they nearly smacked into Emma's chin.

Emma had to sit back sharply to avoid getting smacked in the face by her girlfriend's pelvis. She chuckled. Maybe Regina was even more desperate than she originally thought. One look in brown eyes, wild with need, answered that for her. She crawled back up the mayor's body, her hand staying down between the older woman's legs, caressing her drenched folds. Their lips met once more as Emma finally slid two fingers inside.

Regina whimpered happily, sinking onto the fingers, pulling her mouth away from the blonde's but keeping just mere centimeters apart. "More."

Emma obeyed, slipping a third finger into her. She was so wet that it slid in easily without even the barest hint of resistance.

Regina was so happy she could cry and she knew she very well might. She closed her eyes and smiled as Emma slid in and out of her, bliss suffusing her system. She met her thrusts with the powerful rocking of her hips.

Emma reached impossibly deeper inside the brunette, sinking into her as far as she possibly could, her fingers searching out all the places inside her that would make her tremble.

Regina shook with her impending climax, bending both legs at the knee and putting her feet flat on the bed to get more leverage and also to allow the blonde to slip ever deeper into her. Her mind flittered between mumblings of Emma's name and love, neither of which she chose to voice. Her hips worked overtime, rocking to meet the intrusion of the blonde's fingers. She was almost there, almost, just a few more thrusts.

An alarm went off, different this time. Emma's head whipped to the side to look towards the bedside table on the opposite side, where her phone screen was alive with her wake up call. "It's mine." She inadvertently started slowing her pace.

"Miss Swan, if you even think about stopping, I will **end** you. I assure you, you have no _idea_ what I'm capable of." She glanced at the phone, still alight and blaring. "Leave it."

Emma frowned, but resumed her former pace. "What if it wakes Henry?"

Regina had the briefest moment of concern that the blonde may be right and they should stop to at least turn off the alarm, but that was pushed out of her mind as her orgasm jumped back to the front of it. She slammed her hips hard against the fingers inside her. "Keep going. Yes, oh God yes."

Emma could see the wave coming before it hit. She covered Regina's mouth with her own to stifle the scream that erupted from the brunette a second later. She winced as Regina clawed at her back with her manicured nails, riding out her orgasm on Emma's fingers, her movements jerky and frantic, until slowly she began to wind down, her movements losing stamina little by little before ceasing altogether.

Regina collapsed back onto the bed, spent.

Emma removed her fingers gently but quickly, diving across her side of the bed and scrambling for her phone, shutting off the alarm. But it was too late. She heard the thumping of little feet as they came down the hall. She had the presence of mind to toss the duvet up over both her and Regina's bodies and put distance between them, sliding in between the cold sheets on the unused half of the bed just a moment before the door opened.

Henry's head peeked in around the door at the two women.

Emma gave him her best sleepy smile, though it was all an act. "Hey little man. Did my alarm wake you? I'm sorry."

He nodded, glancing past her curiously at his mother, who was still too out of it to move, let alone speak.

Emma followed his gaze. "Your Momma's just tired. Tell you what. How about you go brush your teeth and then I'll come downstairs and make us all pancakes while your mom gets ready for work, okay?"

He nodded enthusiastically at the prospect of pancakes, bolting out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Emma grinned as she watched him go until she felt arms wrapping around her torso and dragging her back onto the warm half of the bed and into a tight embrace.

"You are so very wonderful. I could not ask for more." Regina's voice was still shaky as she placed a kiss to the blonde's bare shoulder.

Emma chuckled. "As great as I'm sure that orgasm was, it wasn't anything for the record books."

Regina rolled her eyes. "I beg to differ first of all. But secondly, that was not what I was referring to. I meant how you are with him. You're a great mother Emma, to a child that you didn't give birth to. Even before you and I... you've always been so great with him."

Emma bit her bottom lip. Here it was. Now was the time to tell her the truth. She was still riding the high from her orgasm, maybe she wouldn't even care. There would never be a perfect time, but if she didn't say something now, she could not later say that an opportunity never presented itself, that the subject never came up. Here it was, staring her in the face, the closest to perfect timing she was ever going to get. She opened her mouth, but the words didn't come, instead replaced by others. "I love him. He's perfect." She turned her head to look into brown eyes. "You're both perfect."

Regina could tell that Emma had been about to say something else, but she had promised herself she would let the blonde go at her own pace. Dragging confessions from her was a surefire way to push her away, ensuring she'd be leaving at the end of six months. Twenty four weeks was not a long time to rewire someone's entire existence. She had to convince Emma Swan to remember those forgotten times as a child when she still believed fairytales ended with happily ever after, and trusted that the world wasn't out to destroy her. Right now, it seemed an overwhelming feat. Every step forward was met with a step back. She gained ground, only to lose it. She couldn't lose her. She stared back into green eyes, searching them for something, a small fragment to hold onto. "I love you Emma, so very much."

Emma turned in the embrace, bringing herself face to face with the brunette, so close their noses brushed, each exhalation the other's inhalation. So close the world dropped away from them for the second time that morning, and once more they were the only two beings in existence.

Regina nuzzled her cheek, placing feather light kisses across her skin. "I love you."

"Regina..."

The mayor didn't know whether it was meant to be a warning or an encouragement, but regardless of which, she headed off any more words by blanketing the blonde's mouth with her own. Her tongue dipped into the waiting heat past the barrier of Emma's lips.

Emma gripped at Regina's chin, holding her mouth there as they continued their heated kiss, their bodies pressing invitingly together.

Regina didn't know where she found the will to pull away from that intoxicating mouth that belonged to Emma Swan. She rested her forehead against the blonde's, her breathing shallow and stressed. "As much as I want you, our son is waiting downstairs. I believe you promised him pancakes."

Emma tried not to let her elation at Regina calling Henry 'our son' show, not wanting to draw a spotlight onto what had obviously been a mere mistake, a slip of the tongue. Instead she nodded and moved to get up and find her clothes. But a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked back at the brunette who was staring at her with dark, lustful eyes.

"Tonight Miss Swan, expect to be repaid." She smirked seductively.

Emma raised an eyebrow, her own smirk surfacing on her face. That was certainly one promise she hoped didn't fall through. She nodded and pulled away, making sure there was a sway in her hips as she walked over to where her clothes had been discarded before their bath the previous night.

"Tease." Regina threw a pillow at her.

Emma grinned, grabbing the pillow and tossing it back at the brunette. "Takes one to know one baby." She slipped on yesterday's clothes and blew the brunette a kiss as she exited the room.

Regina stared after the blonde silently, her fists still clutching the pillow the younger woman had tossed back at her. Emma had called her _baby_... it wasn't love, but it felt like a long awaited victory all the same.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

When Regina had finally showered and made herself look slightly more mayor-ly, she made her way downstairs and into the dining room where Henry sat in his customary seat to the right of her seat at the head of the table. His little dangling legs kicked back and forth merrily as he munched away on a thin pancake looking thing with apples on top and what appeared to be cinnamon sprinkled over it all. "What's that sweetheart?"

He grinned. "Henry Pancakes."

She couldn't help adopting his smile as he returned his little fork to eat another chunk. She heard sounds coming through the two way door and, after placing a quick kiss on her son's messy hair, she went through the door and into the kitchen.

Emma glanced over her shoulder as she heard someone enter. She smiled at the brunette before turning back to the plate she was fixing up for the woman in question. "Do you like cinnamon?"

"Not particularly." She walked up to the blonde, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder to watch what she was doing. "What's all this?"

"Well I know I promised him pancakes to get him out of the room, but I also know he's not supposed to have any rising agents right now. I figured the baking powder would be a no go, so I made crepes instead. I told Henry they were special Henry Pancakes. That seemed to go over well. I also figured we shouldn't eat normal pancakes when he couldn't, so crepes all around. I cut up some of your apples... which are so sweet, by the way, for topping, and presto..." She turned and pressed the plate into Regina's hands, leaning in and kissing Regina's cheek. "Enjoy." She turned away.

Regina stared down at the plate in her hands, a mirror of Henry's with the exception of the cinnamon. Emma had cooked the apples down to a compote. It looked delicious. She smiled softly down at the plate. "Thank you Miss Swan."

Emma nodded. "No problem." She carried the pan to the sink and began to scrub it, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows.

"Aren't you joining us for breakfast?"

Emma shook her head. "I already ate. Go, enjoy some time with Henry. I'm just going to clean this up and then go take a shower before work."

It occurred to Regina to object, but at the last moment before the protest passed her lips, she thought better of it. She turned and went back to join her son, concern wrinkling her brow. She took her usual seat at the head of the table.

Henry looked up from his half-finished plate. "You okay Momma?"

"Sweetheart, did Emma already eat?" She tried her best to seem just mildly curious, not wanting to alarm Henry in any way.

He nodded his little head. "She put me up on the counter while she made breakfast and she had an apple."

Regina couldn't help the frown that crossed her face. "Is that all?"

Henry nodded again, cutting a chunk off one of his crepes with the side of his fork, oblivious to her distress. She looked back at the two way door as if she could see through to the woman beyond, before shrugging it off and turning to her breakfast. As always, Emma's cooking skills didn't disappoint. The breakfast was wonderful and before Regina knew it, the last bite was passing her lips.

She grabbed her plate and Henry's, taking them both into the kitchen and putting them in the sink. She would need to leave for work soon. She smiled as she heard Henry pounding up the stairs towards the family room to turn on his morning cartoons. She'd need to get him back to school soon. He was doing better than he had in the past few months. And kindergarten was only four hours. She could start having Emma drop him off on her way to the station and have her pick him up on her way home. It would give Katherine a reprieve from being here five hours every day, though she knew her best friend didn't mind in the least.

She left the kitchen and headed upstairs. The shower was going in the bathroom between Henry and Emma's room. The door to the family room was ajar and she could hear the sound of some kid's show or other playing. The door to Emma's room was also ajar, but only a foot or so. She didn't know what possessed her to push it open, but before she could consider her decision, she was standing in the middle of the room.

It was as it was everyday, impersonal and neat. The framed puzzle was hung up on the wall over the dresser, but beyond that, nothing decorated the room. A book sat on top of the bedside table, the top drawer was slightly pulled out. She walked over, to look at the title, but there was none, simply a blank green cover with a group of shooting stars flying across it. She was about to flip the cover open, still in search of the title, when her eyes caught the contents of the drawer. A bottle. Medicinal by the looks of it. She pulled the drawer open, her hand running over the label, catching sight of an identical bottle, unopened towards the back of the drawer. Neither were prescription, which was a relief, both bottles appeared to be nothing more than nutritional supplements. But it wasn't their presence that bothered her, but their contents.

"Find anything interesting?"

Regina spun around, knowing that she was caught. Emma sounded slightly angry, though her face was alarmingly blank. Her hair was wet, her body wrapped in a towel. Her posture was closed off, defensive.

The blonde closed the door and dropped her towel, turning for her dresser, anything to get away from the look of guilt on Regina's face.

"Emma, I'm sorry. The drawer was open."

Emma took a deep breath, trying to calm her temper. "I thought we agreed that this would be my space?"

"It is. I just..." She trailed off. She didn't know what had brought her into Emma's room. No, she knew, she just also knew that Emma wouldn't appreciate her concern.

"You just?" Emma turned. She wasn't going to let the older woman off that easy. This may be her home, but this was _her_ space. How could Regina just violate her privacy like that? She saw Regina's face fall and her anger started to dissipate, replaced by exhaustion. "You have nothing to worry about. They're vitamins, nothing more. Zinc, Iron, everything a growing girl needs to get by. I promise, I'm not some closet junkie or anything."

Regina was in front of her in two strides, pulling the blonde into her arms. "I would never think that darling. I'm so sorry."

Emma hugged her back after a moment of hesitation, letting herself relax into the embrace for several moments before pulling away. "My hair... I don't want to get your clothes wet." She grabbed her underwear from the pile of clothes she'd removed from the dresser just moments before, slipping them on.

"Emma... they're... you have prenatal... in the drawer... are you?" Her hand slid inadvertently over the blonde's stomach. Was Miss Swan pregnant? Regina found that a part of her almost seemed to hope that the answer was yes.

Emma looked up with wide eyes and shook her head. "No, I... they have vitamins in them that regular multi-vitamins don't. A doctor suggested them once. I... no, I'm not pregnant." She failed to mention that the doctor who had suggested them to her had been an obstetrician when she'd been pregnant, but she hadn't lied. She only still took them now because they offered the vitamins she needed.

Regina nodded, any hope of another baby dying with the blonde's answer. "I see. Well, I apologise, for sticking my nose where it didn't belong." She stepped to the door, pausing once she got there. She looked back over her shoulder to see Emma still standing there not having moved an inch. "You can tell me anything Emma. I'm not here to judge you. I want you to feel safe with me." She bit her lip and exited the room, closing the door behind her. She was already late for work.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma had not been the happiest camper since arriving at work, preferring to keep to her desk and the never ending stream of case reports that needed to be filled out and filed. It was mindless work and that was fine with her. She didn't want to think, didn't want to have to focus. Her mind was too occupied with other things.

Things had been tense when Regina left for work this morning. She had little doubt that the activities they'd planned for tonight were not going to happen. She was already planning on foregoing the mayor's bed and sleeping in her own room. It had been stupid to be in there in the first place. They had separate rooms for a reason.

She ran a hand through her hair and wrote down another notation on the paperwork she was filling out. A glance at the clock told her she had less than an hour until her shift was over for the day and she could go home to the little man. He was the one person in this town who seemed to want nothing from her but her attention. That was something she could definitely handle; it was about all she could handle.

The telltale click of heels in the main hallway told her of Regina's approach. She didn't look, keeping her back to the entrance. When Regina emerged, she wouldn't have to look at her and vice versa. Whatever would be bringing her down here at this hour could only be business-related and Graham was more than capable of handling it. She'd just keep her eyes on the paperwork and everything would be fine.

The heels paused as they entered the room and Emma could just imagine the brunette scanning the room, taking note of her presence. She could feel the woman's eyes boring into her back. But she wouldn't turn around. She heard Graham shoot up from his chair, clearing his throat as he noticed Regina's presence. "Mayor Mills, how can I help you?"

"Coffee."

She heard Graham scramble towards their coffee maker, off in the back corner.

"From Granny's Sheriff. Miss Lucas knows my order."

Emma heard Graham depart and her heart sank. She began focusing on the words on the page in front of her so fiercely that they began to blur together as she heard the sound of those heels approaching her desk. So Regina had come to see her. Well that torpedoed her plan to be invisible.

She felt the woman stop beside her desk but she still didn't look up.

Regina gave the blonde several moments of silence before she sighed. "You're not even speaking to me now?"

"Can I help you with something Madam Mayor?" Emma signed her name to the bottom of the report and pushed it to the side.

"Well you could start by telling me what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why won't you even look at me?" Her tone spoke of hurt and anger.

With a sigh Emma looked up, meeting brown eyes.

"You're still cross with me about this morning. I apologised."

Emma rubbed a hand over her face. "I forgave you already Regina. It happened. I'm over it."

"Obviously not Miss Swan. Graham told me you've been sulking all morning."

"You called and checked up on me?" Who did this woman think she was?

"I called to speak with you and Graham said it wasn't a good idea because you seemed upset." She sat down on the desk. "I want to know what's wrong."

Emma pushed her chair back away from her desk and stood. "This is not the place..."

Regina held up a hand to cut her off. "No, I'm not leaving here until we settle this."

Emma shifted from foot to foot. "But Regina..."

"No Miss Swan, I want to know what's troubling you."

"Will you two shut your yaps already? If I wanted to watch soap operas I would have asked the Sheriff to turn on _All My Children_." The grumble came from the direction of one of the two cells six feet in front of Emma's desk.

Regina glanced over her shoulder to see Leroy glaring at her through half-closed eyes. Even from this distance, she could see they were bloodshot. He was drunk, or at the very least, he had been. She was about to throw some idle but well placed threat his direction when she felt Emma's hand wrap around her arm, pulling her off the desk and leading her towards Graham's office.

Emma pulled them inside the little office and closed the door. She ran a hand through her hair, dropping her hold on the other woman's arm and putting distance between them.

"Well?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"You looked at me differently." Emma sighed and rested back against Graham's desk.

"I _what_?" Regina wanted to touch her again, but she knew she shouldn't until they had worked everything out.

"When I caught you in the drawer and you turned... In that first moment, you looked at me as if I'm... it was as if you didn't know me, as if I were all of a sudden someone different." Emma stared down at her hands. "You've never looked at me like that before."

"Oh Emma..." Regina took a step forward. "I was just surprised darling. I saw the word _prenatal_ and I jumped to conclusions, thinking you'd been keeping this huge secret from me. I shouldn't have." She stepped cautiously up to the blonde, her hand resting on the younger woman's outer thigh, testing out how the blonde would react to contact. She made no move away from the touch. Slowly the brunette slid the hand up to the deputy's hip, gripping tightly as she pressed herself close. "Nothing about the way I feel towards you has changed." She kissed the blonde's temple sweetly. "Honestly, there was a small part of me that was thrilled with the idea of a little Emma Swan coming into the world."

Emma bit her bottom lip and finally looked up into the brown eyes above her. "Really?"

Regina nodded. "One day, I think I'd quite like another child." She left out the more pertinent details, like her not being able to conceive herself or that she hoped Emma was to be a part of that future. One step at a time. They had time yet for those things.

Emma gave a small smile. "I think I'd like to do it again." Catching her slip only after it had already fallen from her lips, she rushed to amend her last statement. "You know, besides Henry."

Regina stroked her fingers through blonde hair. "So, are we good now?"

Emma nodded. "Always."

Regina pulled her up and into a deep kiss, the hand still on her hip dipping under the hem of her shirt and caressing the bare flesh of her side. Reluctantly, she pulled back. "I'm going to be late getting home. I have a late appointment that, unfortunately, I am unable to get out of."

Emma found herself pouting. "Alright. I'll leave some dinner for you."

Regina pressed a quick kiss of apology to her lips. "Thank you for understanding my love." She pulled away from the blonde knowing if she didn't put distance between herself and the deputy, she'd never leave. "I haven't forgotten that I have a debt to repay Miss Swan. I assure you I still have every intention of paying up tonight." She opened the door to the office and, with one final smirk, was gone.

Graham walked past her carrying the coffee she'd ordered. She snatched it from his hand as she passed without a word, her heels clicking as she made her departure.

Emma came to the door of the small office, watching as her boss stared after his boss, his hand still clasped around the empty space where the coffee cup had been. She chuckled and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Yea, she has that effect on me too."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: the muse is hungry for reviews. feed the muse?


	20. Early Morning Mom Duty

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: i just googled my author name. WOW. that was intense. you guys apparently have a lot of feelings one way or the other. so i'm going to update. a lot of this fic is finished but posting will be few and far between. not because i want to torture you all, but i still don't have full access to my laptop until mid-april. sorry for the inconvenience, but such is life. within the next few chapters (but not this one) the story will progress in the baby mama department. enjoy, review, my lovely readers

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 20: Early Morning Mom Duty**

"Hey Mary Margaret." Emma peeked around the corner and into the colourful classroom. Tables were scattered around the room, clean in the absence of the schoolchildren, currently out at lunch. Backpacks were slung over the backs of several chairs. Handmade art covered the walls, along with posters that exalted the learning process. It looked straight out of a movie, nothing like her classrooms growing up. It was yet another thing that reminded her of the quaintness of this small town, and this long buried desire to be a part of it.

The schoolteacher looked up from her desk, a potato chip halfway to her mouth. "Emma?" She set the potato chip back in the bag on her desk and stood. "What are you doing here?"

Emma shifted from foot to foot. "Graham let me off a little early and I thought it might be nice to have lunch together before I go back to the mayor's house."

Mary Margaret smiled and gestured to the empty side of her desk. "Pull up a seat."

Emma smiled gratefully and grabbed one of the child sized chairs from a student's desk and pulled it over to the schoolteacher's desk. She fell into it with a sigh.

Mary Margaret turned the potato chip bag towards the blonde in offering.

Emma snagged one and popped it into her mouth, munching happily. Potato chips were a weakness of hers, specifically salt and vinegar potato chips, there was something she respected about flavour so potent it slapped you across the face the moment it crossed your tongue, but the barbeque flavour that Mary Margaret was sharing came in a close second.

"So, trouble in paradise?" Mary Margaret eyed her as she took a sip from a mug with _World's Greatest Teacher_ in cartoonish letters on the side.

Emma shook her head. "No, Regina has been amazing."

"But...?"

"This morning she found my vitamins." Emma bit her lip. "My _prenatal_ vitamins."

Mary Margaret's eyes grew wide. "You're..."

Emma raised a hand and shook her head frantically to cut her off. "No, no I'm not." She bit her lip. "But I was... once."

Mary Margaret had a million questions in the forefront of her mind, the who, what, when, where, why, and how, of the situation, but she knew better than to press. She remained quiet, letting Emma explain the situation in her own time.

"I don't remember much about that time, or... maybe I remember too much, and my mind just has trouble processing it all. He helped me learn how to get myself off the streets, helped me find the strength to make myself better. He was... out of my life before I found out about him. I was having terrible nausea every night and I was late. I thought I had some weird virus." She chuckled humourlessly. "My first thought about my child was that he was a virus." She took a shaky breath before she was able to continue. "After I found out I was pregnant, I really began to turn things around. I was so happy, as stupid as that may sound. I knew that this was my chance, my golden opportunity to be everything my own mother hadn't been. I researched at the library every moment I wasn't at work. I did odd jobs on the side, dogwalking, posing for art classes, anything I could find. Everything had to be perfect for his arrival. I thought I knew everything I could possibly ever need to know. And then... he came." She got up from the seat and turned away.

Mary Margaret stood but didn't go to her. She had a feeling Emma didn't want to be touched in this moment.

"He was so beautiful." She felt tears sting her eyes but they didn't fall. "He had this adorable little grin, it was all gums." She laughed at the memory. "And he had my eyes. I saw none of his father in him and for that I was grateful. But looking down into that face..." Emma turned back and gave her roommate a watery smile. "I realised then that I knew nothing. And I knew in that moment what I had to do. I became intimate with the opposing side of a decision I had already made. I made a choice I had once swore I would never make. But I loved him, and I knew that loving him... that it meant letting him go. He deserved more than me."

The schoolteacher shook her head. "Oh Emma, no. You made an amazing sacrifice, one that most women couldn't make. The only way you would have been less than he deserved was if you had kept him just to avoid being your mother. You did right by him. Never forget that. You gave him his best chance. That is what mothers are supposed to do."

Emma nodded, wiping her tears away with the back of her sleeve.

Mary Margaret tilted her head. "Emma, does Regina know all this?"

Emma shook her head, downcasting her eyes in shame. "I can't tell her. How can I? She did what I should have done. She is what I should have been. Here she raised a child, a sick one at that, all on her own. She runs an entire town and she's still home for dinner every night. Henry is loved, he's cherished, and..." She trailed off. "She is everything I should have been for my own son. We are both single mothers and I can't help thinking I could have done better, if I only had her conviction." She shook her head, her eyes tortured with memories of her past. "She would never understand. She'd call me weak because I couldn't just suck it up. I can live with a lot of things, but not that. I don't want her to look at me differently."

Mary Margaret felt her heart break at the fear in the blonde's voice. Somehow her fears had shifted, unnoticed by the blonde herself, from being afraid she'd be asked to stay to being afraid she wouldn't.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina tossed her pen down in frustration as she reclined back in her chair. She was getting nowhere with the pile of proposals stacked on her desk awaiting her attention. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of Emma Swan, of flowing blonde hair and wise green eyes. She was madly in love with the girl, that was becoming more apparent everyday. Things that she never would have allowed in the perfect order of her life were suddenly becoming things that she couldn't live without. Emma was life captured, everything Regina had never realised she was looking for.

Her heart did a somersault in her chest and a smile broke out across her face. It had seemed forever since she'd felt this way. She was in love. How had she gotten so lucky?

The knock came at the door then, interrupting her thoughts. She had sent her receptionist home at the normal end of business day in anticipation of this after hours meeting. He never did like to make an appointment the normal way, but she tolerated his impromptu visits only because they were infrequent and he always said please. She wasn't sure why the word held so much weight, but coming from him it seemed the request was undeniable.

The man who peeked around the door was on the shorter side, with shoulder length brown hair and a solemn face. He had never been much for smiling, but his eyes gave away all the expressions the rest of his face kept hidden. When he had the upper hand in any situation, which he almost always did, they would sparkle with a perverse merriment. In the rare times he found himself at the disadvantage, they would harden to brown stone, glinting with a thirst for revenge and to take back the advantage. If there was one thing Mr. Gold felt he needed, it was the advantage in every conceivable scenario.

"Mr. Gold. Come in. Take a seat."

The man entered the room, closing the door behind him. He was impeccably dressed, as always, in his suit and tie. Not the normal attire of a small town pawnbroker, but Regina would never accuse the man of being entirely normal. He crossed the room, leaning his weight against his cane. She had always wondered what accident had befallen him in his past that warranted the necessity of it, but had never been able to bring herself to ask.

She gestured to one of the seats on the other side of the desk as she stood. "Would you care for a drink?" She stepped from behind the desk to head for the sidebar on the left side of the room.

"No, thank you Mayor Mills; I won't be staying long."

Regina returned to her seat and sat down calmly, though she didn't truly feel quite as composed as her demeanor was suggesting. Gold only ever came to her if there was something he wanted, and his demands were hardly ever of a kind nature. "What can I help you with?"

"There is a new deputy in town I see." His voice was even, giving nothing away as to how he felt about the matter.

Regina studied him closely. He didn't want to show his hand too soon; this was not looking good. "Yes, Miss Swan. She works at the station part time during the morning, then works the afternoons and evenings as Henry's nanny." She tried desperately not to show her affection towards the blonde. She had no doubt that if he knew how much she truly cared for Emma Swan, he'd use the knowledge to exploit her.

"How long will Miss Swan be staying in our small town?"

Regina shrugged noncommittally. "I'm not sure, nor do I see why it is you care."

There it was, the sparkling of the eyes, the barely concealed merriment. "Let's just say, I have a personal interest in the new deputy's stay here in our little haven. Big changes are in the air Mayor Mills."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at the dinner she had just packed into storage containers. Regina had said she had a late meeting, but it was getting beyond late now. She sighed and put the containers on the top shelf of the refrigerator, before closing it and leaving the kitchen, flipping off the light as she passed.

It was just after ten. She'd already given Henry his bath and put him to bed. He'd asked for Regina, but he seemed to be no stranger to the concept of his mother working late. Apparently, though it wasn't a common occurrence, it had happened several times before. She'd kissed his brow and left him to his dreams. He'd see Regina in the morning for breakfast.

She turned off all the lights downstairs except the low lights in the foyer for when Regina got in and then trudged up to the mayor's bedroom. She flipped on the bedside lamp, keeping the lighting dim, before crawling up onto the duvet. She laid on her stomach, bending her legs at the knee and crossing her ankles in the air as she scrolled through her playlist.

She'd changed into an oversized t-shirt and grabbed her Iphone before putting dinner away, content to wait for the brunette in her pajamas while listening to some music. She had very little doubt that Regina would be exhausted when she got home from work, and, despite her earlier promise at the station, she would want to just go to bed. She tucked her head onto her crossed arms and stared out the window at the night sky.

The first song hadn't even reached its conclusion before she was asleep.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Your Grace, please, it was merely a slip of the tongue. I'm sure there was no truth to it!" Faleen was nearly running, her skirts rustling about her as she tried to keep pace with the long legged Princess storming down the corridor, her loose blonde hair flying behind her, her legs fueled by her anger.

"Oh, I have little doubt what you heard is true Faleen. It is exactly like her to keep something like this from me under the guise of protecting me from such things. I am no longer a child and she will answer for it." She glared over her shoulder at the servant girl. "Prepare the guest chambers in the east wing, the one with the stone hearth. I will be sleeping there tonight."

Faleen looked unsure for only a moment before she nodded and disappeared back down the corridor to do as she was ordered.

Emma continued on until she reached the door she was looking for. Two guards in black armour guarded the double doors. She gave them each a stern look. No words need be uttered; they stepped forth and opened the doors for her without verbal command. To refuse the Princess was almost as fatal a mistake as refusing the Queen.

The blonde proceeded into the long corridor, ignoring the stunning view of the land to her right as she continued down the long corridor. She didn't try and disguise her coming. She wanted Regina to know that she was not happy with her.

She emerged moments later into the open parlour. Regina was lounging on her fainting couch before the fire, her eyes distant with other thoughts. She seemed surprised to see the blonde once she finally noticed her there. "My love, I thought you were..."

"Where is it?" Emma crossed her arms across her chest.

Regina sat up, bringing her legs off the couch and standing. The navy blue of her silk gown clung to her body invitingly, but the young Princess refused to be tempted; she had come here for a purpose that had nothing to do with the older woman's body. "Where is what?" The brunette blinked innocently, as if she truly had no idea to what the blonde was talking about.

"Do not play coy with me; I have known you far too long to be distracted with the batting of your eyelashes. You know exactly what I am referring to. The letter, where is it?"

Regina sighed and walked across the chamber towards the blonde, her movements dripping with their usual sensual appeal. "Really my love, I have no knowledge of any letter that would concern you." She stopped in front of the blonde, her hands coming up to grip the younger woman's arms with the intention of pulling her close.

Emma stepped back before the older woman could touch her. "Lie if you wish, that is the choice you make, but know that I make a choice here as well. Until you choose to be honest with me, you will not have me." She stared at the brunette defiantly. Their relationship went far beyond their physical connection, but neither would deny that there was a fire that erupted inside both them when they were in close proximity to each other, such is the core of young love.

"Emma, my love, you are overreacting. It is nothing that concerns you." Regina tried once more to get a physical connection established. She knew it was the only way she'd have any hope of winning here. She raised her hand to the blonde's cheek. This time she was successful; Emma did not back away from the touch. But neither did she seem to welcome it.

"If it is from my kingdom, it concerns me. How many times must I tell you that I don't need you to protect me all the time."

"My dear Princess, not nearly as many times as I have told you that I will always protect you." She brought her free hand to the blonde's other cheek and drew the younger woman's mouth to hers.

Emma allowed the kiss. After several moments she pulled back, her expression softened. "Did they threaten you?"

Regina sighed. "It's nothing I can't handle. It isn't the first time I've been accused of using my dark magic to seduce innocents into my bed."

"But it's the first time someone will make good on that threat. Do not take them idly."

"Fear not, Princess. I won't."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina pressed the door closed, shutting out the cold. The low lights were on in the foyer, a dim barely there light that would keep her from tripping up the four short steps to the elevated half of the hardwood floor. She hung up her coat with a small smile at the blonde's thoughtfulness.

The rest of the first floor was dark. She couldn't blame the blonde for not waiting up; she'd stayed at the office far later than she intended. Dinner could wait. Instead she headed for the stairs, going up to the second floor, just as quiet as the first floor and just as dark.

She checked the blonde's room. It was dark and empty, as was the family room. She opened the door to her son's room to find him sleeping soundly, one tiny hand clutching at the rocketship blanket. She smiled and closed the door, heading for her bedroom. A dim line of light showed under the door. Well that answered the question of where Miss Swan was.

She opened the door, slipping inside. The bedside lamp cast a pale glow over the bed. Emma Swan was laying on top of the duvet. Her bare feet were up on the pillows, her cheek resting on a forearm. White earbuds sprung from her ears to her phone laying on the duvet six inches from her face.

Regina tucked a strand of blonde hair behind the younger woman's ear. Emma's face looked troubled in her sleep, as if she were having a bad dream. She grabbed the Iphone and pressed the circular button at the bottom, bringing the screen to life. The lock screen took her by surprise. It was a picture of her and Henry, both asleep in the hospital room back in Boston. She wasn't even aware that Emma had taken a picture. She ran her thumb over the screen, remembering those first few days they'd been together, before sliding the button to unlock the screen. It prompted her to enter the four digit passcode. She had no idea what it was. It occurred to her it might be as simple as Emma's birthday, but that was followed by the revelation that she didn't know Emma's birthday. She tapped the circular button again to bring up the pause button for the music and pressed it. She gently pulled the earbuds from the woman's ears. Emma stirred a little but didn't wake.

The oversized black band t-shirt the blonde was wearing had seen many years of use. The fabric was worn thin, small holes in some places. The print was so faded that Regina couldn't even tell what band had originally been on it. It had rode up slightly as she stirred, leaving the barest hint of red lace underwear peeking out.

"Emma." She shook gently on the blonde's shoulder.

It took a moment but green eyes blinked open, clouded with sleep. As they focused on Regina, she sat up. "Did I fall asleep? I'm sorry. I..."

Regina leaned in and kissed the blonde, cutting off whatever she had been about to say. She pulled back, smiling as she stroked Emma's cheek with the back of a finger. "Thank you for putting Henry to bed and for attempting to wait up for me."

Emma rubbed at her eyes with a fist. "What time is it?" She glanced at the nightstand on Regina's side of the bed to check the digital alarm clock before remembering that she'd disassembled it this morning and left it for dead somewhere on the floor.

"Almost eleven."

"Meeting go okay?"

Regina pursed her lips. "It was dreadful." She gave the blonde a small smile. "But my night seems to be turning up."

Emma smirked. "You know what would make it even better?"

Regina felt a shiver of anticipation run up her spine at the seductive way the blonde was looking at her. "What?"

Emma pulled the mayor closer and crawled onto her lap, leaning in and ghosting her lips over the brunette's throat. "You." She punctuated the word with a kiss to the woman's flesh. "Me." Another kiss. She pulled up to look into the brown eyes of the older woman, hesitating only because she knew that a million possibilities were flashing through the mayor's mind in that long pause. Emma leaned in close to the mayor's ear. "And sleep."

Regina's mouth dropped open. Well that certainly hadn't been where she thought that was going. She had imagined what ever Miss Swan would suggest would involve the bed, but certainly not for its intended purpose. She pouted at the younger woman.

Emma frowned. "Oh, don't give me that look. You must be exhausted."

"But what about the debt I owe you?"

Emma yawned. "Right now, the only thing I want is to fall asleep in your arms."

Regina's heart melted at that, all sense of desire for the younger woman's body retreating to the back of her mind. She nodded.

Emma smiled gratefully, her hands coming up to work on the buttons of the brunette's shirt, opening them one by one. As soon as she had the fabric completely parted, she crawled off Regina's lap so the woman could stand, then immediately reached for the zipper on the side of her skirt, drawing it down.

Regina watched as Emma slowly undressed her. There was no urgency to her motions, no rush. There was no stolen touches, no kisses to skin as it became exposed, just simple methodical removal of her clothes. The blonde draped each piece across the duvet, one on top of the other as she removed them, her hands directing Regina on whether to sit or stand. Finally the brunette was down to nothing but beige silk. Emma hesitated a moment before reaching for the clasp of Regina's bra, but once she committed to its removal she didn't pause until it had joined the stack.

Emma crawled off the bed, keeping her eyes off the brunette's chest for fear her resolve would break and she'd change her mind. She crossed to the dresser and removed one of the mayor's silk negligees, bringing it back over to the woman still sitting on the bed.

Regina watched every movement the blonde made. She could tell Emma was warring internally with the desire that seemed to permeate the air around them whenever they were alone together and her obvious exhaustion. She did look tired. She raised her arms so that the blonde could slip the silk material over her head and down her body. The second her breasts were once more shielded from view, Emma visibly relaxed. Regina got up and turned down the duvet, gesturing for Emma to slip in first. She followed closely after.

Emma curled into the older woman the second the duvet dropped around them, her legs tangling with the brunette's, drawing the woman closer. Her dream had really shaken her up. The thought of anyone threatening Regina was just unthinkable; she couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to lose the mayor, or her son.

Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde, holding her close. She wasn't sure what Emma was so scared of, but she knew she wanted to protect her from her fears. "I'm here darling. Sleep now, I'm here."

Emma buried her face in Regina's neck and only then was able to drift back to sleep, followed closely by the brunette.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It was in the dark hours just before dawn when Emma awoke once more. She was still tangled up with the mayor, who was still fast asleep. She took a moment to just watch the serene face laying on the pillow opposite hers. They were so close that the small breaths coming in little puffs from the brunette's nostrils washed over her face. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes scanning the woman beside her. Slowly she raised up a hand, hauntingly pale in the blue glow of the moonlight, ghosting her fingertips across the older woman's cheek. "I must have done something right, to deserve you." She pulled her hand back, not wanting to risk waking the older woman.

She extricated herself carefully from the mayor's embrace, sliding from the bed. The air was cold, a fresh blanket of snow covering the world outside the window. Emma shivered. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to the great white north. She put her feet down to the cold hardwood and trudged to the door. Water was needed, her throat felt dry.

She stopped by Henry's room as she heard a whimper from inside, opening the door and peeking in. Hazel eyes met hers as she looked at the bed. "Hey little man. What are you doing up at this hour? You feeling okay?"

A shake of a little head was her only response before the previous night's dinner made a special guest appearance. Luckily the boy had kicked his blankets away when he had awakened and the majority of his bedding was spared. He looked up at her with apologetic eyes, breaking her heart.

Emma had never dealt with this situation before, but whatever motherly instincts she had retained from her brief stint as a mother seemed to kick in then. "It's alright. Let's get you cleaned up. She walked into the room, grabbing his hand and helping him from the bed. She led him from the bedroom to the bathroom, stripping him out of his footie pajamas before lifting him up onto the counter and having him rinse his mouth and brush his teeth.

She drew a warm bath to clean him up and relax his stomach before going back into his bedroom and stripping the bed. She took his bedding, along with his soiled footie pajamas down to the laundry room. It was easy enough to find the cupboard with all the laundry supplies. She stared at the box of detergent, or what claimed to be detergent. Inside the tub were sealed individual pods of liquid. She'd never seen anything like them. But the directions told her to put one in the bottom of the washer for light loads, two for deep cleaning. She glanced at the soiled sheets before tossing in two. A clearly labeled cup along the side with a fill line told her where and how much fabric softener to use. She tossed in the soiled sheets and closed the lid. Now was the hard part. The dial gave her a million options. She flipped it to Bulky Items and adjusted the soil level to High before pressing start. The washer came to life. Emma stared at it as if waiting for it to groan and break at her ineptness, but it didn't and she soon left it be to go check on Henry.

He looked pale but slightly less sick when she came back into the bathroom.

"Feeling any better?" Emma sat down on the edge of the tub and looked at him with concern.

He nodded. "Sorry Emma."

She shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry for." She brushed a strand of wet hair out of his eyes. "Do you want me to go wake your momma?"

He shook his head. "She needs sleep. Will you stay with me?"

She smiled and nodded. "As you command."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina woke to an empty bed and dawn streaming in through the window. She looked around the room, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light. "Emma?"

There was no answer. The room was silent. She threw back the duvet and slid out of bed, grabbing the silk robe draped over the chair of her vanity and sliding it on before approaching the door.

The second floor of the mayoral mansion was dim and quiet. The door to Henry's room was open and the room was empty. She glanced out the big window on the small landing halfway between the first and second floors, noting that it couldn't be much after six. What was her son doing up so early? The bathroom door was open, but the room was also empty, though a wet towel in the sink was evidence of recent use.

She doubted Emma was in her room, but she peeked in anyway, finding it just as unused as it had been when she'd come home the previous night. She closed the door and headed downstairs.

The kitchen and dining room were both empty and seemingly untouched. The door to the laundry room was open but no one was inside. The parlour was equally as empty.

It was in the living room that she found them.

Emma Swan lay draped on her back across the length of the couch. Her blonde hair was a mess of unruly waves and she was still in the oversized band t-shirt she'd slept in. Henry was fast asleep, laying stretched out on his stomach across her torso. He wasn't in the same pajamas he'd been wearing the previous night when Regina had checked on him before going to bed. His hair was wet, soaking the thin fabric of Emma's shirt where his head was resting on it, near her shoulder.

Regina smiled to herself, grabbing the throw she always left draped over the arm and pulled it over the two members of her small family to ward off the early morning chill. She could handle breakfast today, let them sleep.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews are love as always.


	21. The Fortress Of Solitude

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: another quick update because I snagged some computer time at a friend's house. really hope you all enjoy. reviews for the muse?

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 21: The Fortress Of Solitude**

Emma ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair as she walked into the kitchen.

Regina looked up from the stove. "Hey, I didn't mean to wake you."

Emma waved it off. "It's not a problem. I was barely sleeping anyway."

Regina eyed the soft dark circles that were barely visible under the blonde's eyes. She hadn't slept much all night, that much was obvious. The brunette wanted to ask what was on her mind, but she knew she'd be met with opposition. Instead she went for the other obvious topic of conversation. "You gave Henry another bath this morning?"

Emma looked up with tired eyes as she walked further into the room. "Uh yeah. He woke up sick this morning. He threw up all over his bed."

Regina froze. "He was sick?"

Emma nodded. "I, uh, washed the sheets and gave him a bath. He's still sleeping."

Regina ran a hand over her face. "I should stay home, take him to the doctor."

Emma shook her head. "I can do it."

Regina bit her bottom lip, leaning back against the counter. "He's been doing so good lately. I thought maybe..." She sighed.

Emma stepped closer, putting a hand on her arm. "It's gonna be okay. I'll take him to the doctor and see what's wrong. I'll call the second we know anything."

Regina put a hand over Emma's, stroking the flesh with her thumb. She lifted her hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. She nodded, looking at Emma with watery eyes. "He'll be fine." She tried to infuse her tone with conviction, but they both heard the slight tremor in it.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stood in the en suite, brushing her hair to it's normal perfect coifed form. She'd already showered and dressed, moving as if in a daze. Despite the calm she'd shown downstairs in the face of Emma's reassurances, she couldn't help but worry. For the past month there had been no incidents beyond the occasional upset stomach, nothing to worry about. She had thought he was improving. But this was how it always seemed to start. First came the inability to keep anything down, then would come the frailty and weakness. It was coming on again.

"His royal highness is still out cold on the couch, but I called the hospital and got him an appointment to be checked out." Emma padded into the en suite on bare feet. She leaned back against the counter next to the sink and then hefted herself up to sit on it, watching Regina as she reached for her powder.

Regina glanced over as she opened her compact. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I can miss the morning appointments; there's nothing too pressing that can't wait."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. I want to do this."

Regina smiled softly, taking the powder brush and tapping it against Emma's nose, chuckling at the tan circle of powder it left on the fair skin of her nose.

Emma crinkled her nose and wiped at the powder with the back of a hand. "Very cute."

Regina insinuated herself between the younger woman's legs. "I thought it was."

Emma looked up into the brown eyes of the older woman.

Regina stroked the blonde's inner thighs, caressing the soft flesh as she placed a gentle kiss on Emma's jaw. She gripped the younger woman's hips and dragged her closer.

Emma's lips sought the brunette's as the older woman slid her hands underneath the thin cotton of the t-shirt, gliding over soft skin, exploring it. She reached under her own shirt, gripping the mayor's right wrist and directing her hand down to the waistband of her underwear. Instead of directing the hand down into the red lace, she slid it down over it, holding the mayor's hand over her damp sex.

Regina moaned low in her throat, cupping the soaked material. She began to rub her hand over the lacy material, nipping at the blonde's bottom lip.

Emma rocked against the hand between her legs, her hands gripping at the woman's shirt, pulling her closer as she sealed their mouths together. She sighed into the contact, her eyes slipping closed. She pulled back after a moment, gazing into the older woman's brown eyes. It took all her will power to draw back. "I have to get ready to take Henry to his appointment and you need to finish getting ready for work." She slipped down off the counter until her feet touched the tile. She took a moment to wrap her arms around the brunette's neck, kissing her fiercely.

Regina frowned as Emma pulled away and headed to the shower, starting it up, running her hand under the spray to test the temperature. She shook the excess drops off and turned back to the brunette, pulling her shirt up and off.

Regina breathed in deeply through her nose, trying to counter her body's reaction to seeing the younger woman topless. Miss Swan was testing her patience. The tapered down desire from the previous night rose up through her system. "Emma." It came out a whine of want and need.

Emma chuckled. "Patience." She turned back to the spray, testing the water one more time. Feeling that it was warm enough, she tucked her fingers into the red lace and dragged it down her legs, stripping away the last layer of clothing.

Regina was across the room in two strides, pressing into the blonde's bare back, one arm wrapping around the woman's waist and pulling her tightly back against her. "Miss Swan... tonight, I will get my payback. No excuses."

Emma grinned as she leaned back against the older woman's body, holding the arm wrapped around her waist against her. "Why Madam Mayor, is that a threat?"

Regina chuckled, a low seductive growl, right into the blonde's ear causing the younger woman's skin to prickle. "No darling, it's a _promise_."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared around the exam room, twiddling her thumbs as she took in the posters with cartoonish pictures, the light blue walls, the gray leather exam table. As quaint as this small town may be, even its kitsch charm wasn't enough to distract her from the fact that this was a hospital. She hated hospitals.

A little hand fell over hers where it was gripping the arm of the uncomfortable gray guest chair with white knuckles. She glanced down at the little boy sitting on her lap, his legs kicking back and forth as he offered her a small smile. "Can we go to Granny's for lunch Emma?"

Emma nodded. "Sure kid, anything you want. Let's just get through this appointment first okay?" She smoothed down his brown hair.

He nodded his little head just as a nurse appeared.

"Deputy Swan?"

Emma looked up, instantly alert. "Yes."

"Dr. Whale is just running a few minutes behind. He asked me to take Henry's vitals, if that's alright."

Emma nodded.

Henry crawled down off her lap and walked to the exam table, scaling the side like King Kong did the Empire State Building. He climbed onto the top, seating himself on the edge. He was the picture of calm. Of course he was; he'd been through this before. She hadn't.

Without needing a word of command, he lifted his left arm. The nurse took it and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around it. He turned his head enough so she could stick the digital thermometer into his ear and extended a finger so she could clamp on the blood-oxygen monitor.

Emma watched the whole scene with wide eyes. He sat perfectly still, a disinterested look on his small face. He'd been through this too many times, the process ingrained in his little mind. Emma couldn't even imagine what this must be like for him.

The thermometer and cuff seemed to beep simultaneously and the nurse checked all the readings, jotting them down on a chart. "Your temperature's normal, but your blood pressure's looking a little low there Mr. Mills." The nurse gave him a stern look that wasn't at all convincing.

Henry grinned. "I'll just have to cheer him up then."

The nurse smiled, patting his knee. "That's what I like to hear." She turned to Emma. "Dr. Whale should be in momentarily."

Momentarily translated into another twenty minute wait, each minute fraying Emma's nerves just a little bit more.

Dr. Whale was just as sleazy as his reputation suggested. He had short dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, a cherub-like face. She could see from the confidence he carried himself with and his, admittedly, toned physique, that girls would be charmed by him. But Emma knew better. There was a smarmy air just beneath the surface. The way his eyes passed over her, like a scanner reads a document, he checked her out, boxing her up and labeling her worthy or unworthy of pursuit. She hated his type, overconfident playboys who believed they were God's gift to women.

He extended a hand towards her. "You must be Deputy Swan."

She shook it briefly, pulling her hand back as quickly as was appropriate. "Henry was sick this morning. Re... Mayor Mills and I are concerned that something may be wrong."

Dr. Whale nodded and looked to Henry. "Not feeling too great?"

Emma was amazed at how he transformed the moment his attention veered from her to Henry. It was like flipping a switch. If there was one thing good to be said about the man, it was that he was completely professional with his patients, well, at least he was with this patient. Emma didn't know if it was because he was the mayor's only child, Regina did carry a lot of weight around this town after all, or whether it was because he really knew how to separate work from play. But he looked at Henry with his full attention.

Henry shook his head in response to the man's question.

Dr. Whale nodded sympathetically. "Well let's take a look and see what the problem is."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina licked the back of the envelope and jotted down the recipient's address as well as the return address for City Hall and then grabbed a stamp from her drawer. She put it to the side with the other outgoing post as a knock sounded at the door. She sighed, about to call for her secretary to come in when the door opened and a familiar blonde head peeked in.

"Knock knock."

Regina smiled the first genuine smile since she'd arrived at work the morning. "Miss Swan."

"And me too Momma." Henry peeked around Emma's legs before rushing in and around the desk, climbing into his mother's lap and wrapping his arms around her neck.

Regina hugged the little boy to her, cradling the back of his head with the palm of her hand as her eyes fell closed. She wouldn't admit it, but she had been worried all morning. Emma had promised to call after the appointment, and by the time her clock had struck noon, she'd been nearly frantic, internally warring with herself whether to call the blonde herself or continue to wait. Horrible scenarios had flashed through her mind of what could have caused the delay. Seeing Henry here, safe and smiling, banished all her fears.

She glanced up at the blonde, who closed her office door and held up a stack of styrofoam containers. "We brought lunch from Granny's."

Regina smiled and gestured to the couches that took up the entire left side of her office.

Emma walked over and parked herself on a white couch, opening the containers in turn and checking their contents.

Henry pulled back to look excitedly into Regina's face. "Ruby gave Emma her grilled cheese for free Momma. I think she _likes_ her. But I told her Emma was **ours**."

Regina felt the smile on her face falter a bit. Ruby Lucas was much more suitable for Emma. They were closer in age and the waitress was pretty. She let her mind slip back to the memory of the young brunette playing with Emma and Henry in the snow at the bake sale. Was there something between the two? Was she just holding Emma back from who she really wanted to be with? That couldn't possibly be true, could it?

Emma rolled her eyes. "I told you little man, she just was thanking me for something I helped her with a while ago. Ruby's my friend, nothing more. I already have someone special in my life."

Regina looked over and met the green eyes that were staring back at her, a small private smile gracing the blonde's face. She set Henry down and watched as he ran over and sat on the carpet in front of the table, pulling one of the containers towards himself. She stood and walked over, seating herself on the couch beside the younger woman.

Emma reached over and grabbed the container with Regina's lunch, handing it to the brunette. As she did, she leaned in, pressing her lips to Regina's ear so Henry wouldn't overhear. "I'm yours." She placed a quick but firm kiss to the mayor's cheek before turning back to the grilled cheese sitting in the container on her lap.

Regina bit her lip to contain the grin that wanted to spring up onto her face. She glanced sideways at the blonde who was taking a tentative bite of the sandwich.

Emma felt the brunette's gaze. She looked over to find the older woman staring at her. She swallowed the bite she'd been chewing and set the sandwich back down, wiping at her face with an eyebrow raised in question. She must have something on it.

Regina just smiled and shook her head, finally diverting her gaze back to her own lunch.

They ate slowly, chatting for the next forty five minutes about little meaningless details while they stole bites here and there, preferring the company to the food. Henry animatedly updated his mother on everything that had happened during his and Emma's visit to the hospital as well as all the gossip he'd caught during their brief wait at Granny's.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back." Henry rushed for the door of the office, disappearing through it.

The second he was gone, Regina pounced, turning to face the blonde so suddenly that Emma had no time to react before the older woman's lips were pressing against hers. She had no chance to breathe, no chance to think; all she could do was give over to the sensations of the brunette's insistent mouth. Finally, Regina pulled back.

Emma sputtered, trying to take in the oxygen she'd been deprived of. "What was that for?"

"For bringing me lunch. For bringing Henry by. For making my day brighter. For..."

Emma shut her up with another kiss, brief but sweet. "You're welcome."

"Is he really okay?"

Emma nodded. "They took some blood and said they'd call the house with the results tomorrow afternoon. His blood pressure was low, but Dr. Whale didn't seem overly concerned by it. He wants him on soft solids for a week though. I thought I'd drop by the market on our way home and get him some drinkable yogurt and stuff like that."

Regina nodded. This had happened many times before over the course of the past couple years since Henry had been diagnosed. She couldn't begin to explain to the blonde how grateful she was that the woman was here. Just knowing that she didn't have to bear the burden alone... it seemed to make all the difference. She stood.

Emma stood too, collecting the containers with what remained of their lunches. "We should go, let you get back to work. Will you be home for dinner?"

Regina nodded. "I should be home on time tonight."

Henry reappeared through the door.

Emma smiled at the little boy. "Come sat goodbye to your mom; she needs to get back to work."

Henry came running over and Regina crouched down, wrapping him up in a hug. "Bye sweetheart, I love you."

"Love you too Momma." He pulled away.

Regina turned to the blonde. "I'll see you at home."

Emma gave a quick nod and ushered the boy to the door. He was through first.

"Miss Swan?"

Emma glanced back over her shoulder.

Regina was already sitting behind her desk, staring at the blonde. "I love you."

Emma smiled, blowing the mayor a kiss before disappearing through the door, shutting it behind her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stepped inside the foyer, stepping out of her heels and shaking the snow from them. Manolos and winter weather did not go hand in hand. She set them by her purse on the foyer table and hung up her coat. She padded up the four stairs and looked in the living room. It was dark and empty.

Something was cooking on the stove when she entered the kitchen. She lifted the lid on the pot. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. She replaced the lid and went in search of the blonde.

She made no sound as she climbed the stairs, the usual click of her heels that preceded her arrival absent. A light was visible through the open door of the family room. She headed for the room expecting to find Emma and Henry curled up watching a movie or something.

She was greeted with an unexpected sight. Pillows and sheets were stacked in the middle of the room in a makeshift castle. It was actually rather sound in construction if she was being truthful. She couldn't see inside, or even see an entrance. Neither Emma nor Henry were anywhere in sight.

"Anyone home?"

"Momma?" She heard Henry's voice but she couldn't see him. And then he appeared, coming out through a gap in the pillows she hadn't noticed before. "Emma and I built a fort!" He gestured proudly to the structure.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I can see that." She glanced into the opening he had just come out of. "Is Miss Swan in there somewhere?"

In response, a blonde head emerged from the same gap Henry had come from only moments before. She glanced up at the brunette and grinned. "You're home. Dinner should be ready soon." She crawled completely out and stood, brushing her hair back away from her face. She looked at Henry. "You mister, have bathtime in t-minus ninety minutes. I suggest you go play."

He didn't need to be told twice, running off in the direction of his room.

Emma straightened up and looked at the brunette. "I'm glad you're home."

Regina sauntered over to the blonde, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Oh really? How glad?"

Emma smiled. "Very glad." She leaned in and pecked the mayor gently on the lips. "How was work?"

Regina looked thoughtful. "Well thanks to this wonderful surprise I got at lunch, it ended up being a great day." She rested her forehead against the blonde's. She could get used to coming home to this everyday for the rest of her life. "Was this your idea?" She gestured to the hulking mass behind the blonde.

Emma shrugged. "Henry wanted to get away for a while. Since he can't really leave the house, I thought it might be nice to give him an escape, a place to hide away from... everything. I told him Superman has a Fortress of Solitude, Batman has a Batcave, he should have some place too." She bit her bottom lip. "I can take it down."

Regina shook her head. "No. Leave it. You're right. He needs an escape for a little while." She abandoned the blonde's waist and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door.

Emma let herself be led from the family room, throwing a departing glance back over her shoulder at the 'castle' she and Henry had created for themselves. The more time she spent with the little boy, the more she saw his incessant need to escape reality. He lived in his head to avoid living in his body. His bookshelves were loaded with fantasies and fairytales. He had dreams of knighthood and a gallant world where everything was black and white, of heroes and villains. Getting rid of the infinite shades of gray that existed in reality, escaping them into a world where everything fell into a category of good or evil helped him handle his situation. If that's what he needed, she could give that to him. She, more than most, knew how to escape into her head, how to use your imagination to forget the world and all its horrors for at least a little while. She could help him take the fear away, for a little while. She was the perfect woman for the job.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared at the woman sitting to her left, who was stirring her fork absentmindedly through her pasta dish. Emma's culinary skills didn't cease to amaze yet again; she was two forkfuls away from finishing her plate, though the blonde had scarcely took more than a few bites. "You're a good mother Emma, you know that?"

Emma's fork dropped from her hand to her plate with an audible clink. She glanced up with wide eyes as if Regina had just thrown the curtain wide on some great secret. "Wh...what?"

Regina was thrown off by the blonde's response. She knew the younger woman was wary of compliments; she certainly wasn't used to them. But this was something more. Her expression was one of incredulity and her eyes were staring off searching as if she were scrolling through her memories trying to find out what she'd done to make Regina draw such a conclusion. The brunette slid a hand across the dining table, covering the blonde's with her own and bringing her back down to earth. "To Henry."

Emma visibly relaxed, her eyes losing their frightened edge. "Oh." She exhaled. "You really think so?"

Regina was still puzzled by the woman's fearful reaction but she decided to save any inquiries for later. "I know so. You do things for him I'd never even think of. You've made life fun for him again."

Emma smiled. "I'm glad I could help. He deserves to be a kid sometimes."

Regina gave a nod. "Yes, he does. And I'm afraid that's something he doesn't get often enough." She noticed that her hand was still over the blonde's. Instead of pulling it away, she entwined their fingers together. "I love you."

Emma smiled softly, glancing at their hands before nodding. "I know." She leaned across the distance between them and kissed the older woman gently, pulling back just an inch. "I'm getting there."

It wasn't the _I love you_ that she desperately wanted from the younger woman but it was a declaration of intent. Miss Swan was trying to love her. She could take that for now. It was something to hold on to, a place from which to make her stand.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The dishes were washed and dried and put away, the leftovers put away. She had changed into her pajamas. Everything was turned off downstairs. Henry was reading in his room. He still had fifteen minutes until bedtime and he was taking advantage of every second. The only thing that was missing was Emma. Regina couldn't find her anywhere.

She opened the door to the blonde's room and found it just as empty as the last time she checked. She wasn't with Henry. She certainly wasn't in the mayoral bedroom; Regina had just been in there. And unless she was a fan of sitting around in the darkness, she wasn't downstairs. That left any of the other empty guest rooms and bathrooms or the family room.

She leaned in the doorway and stared at the fort, still set up across the majority of the room. "Miss Swan?"

"In here." The call was slightly muffled but plainly audible, coming from the depths of the pillow fort.

"It's your bedtime." Regina smirked. Oh, the bed would be their destination alright, though she had no plans of letting the blonde go to sleep anytime soon.

There was a long pause, then the voice came again, a teasing edge to it now. "You'll have to find me first."

Regina's eyes flared brightly for a moment. A challenge? Oh, this woman had no idea who she was provoking. She approached the gap that served as the entrance to the fort, climbing down onto her hands and knees. She looked into the tunnel through the pillows and blankets. It was dark, but hardly foreboding. She crawled inside.

Once inside, she was confronted with a maze. She had expected to have the tunnel go one way, but it veered off to the left at the gold sheet and to the right at the horse plush. She took the right at the horse, the next two left turns after that and one more right turn before emerging into an open space bigger than one would imagine could be contained in the mess when looking at it from the outside.

Emma Swan sat off to one side, her legs pulled up against her torso, her arms wrapped around them and her chin resting on her knees. She looked every bit the lonely orphan child in that moment and it occurred to the brunette that this was a place where Emma felt safe. Maybe that's why she was able to be the perfect nanny to Henry, because there was a part of her that was still a broken child, just like him.

"Here you are."

Emma looked up, softly startled as if she hadn't realised Regina was there. "Here I am. You found me."

Regina smirked, crawling farther into the space. She saw spare blankets and pillows on the floor around them. "What do I win?"

Emma beckoned her with a finger, releasing her legs from her grip and smiling mischievously at the brunette. She got up and began to crawl towards the older woman even as the brunette mirrored the action.

They met each other halfway, their mouths colliding.

Emma was pushed down onto the mess of blankets and pillows, Regina straddling her. She looked up into dark brown eyes as the older woman's fingers traced patterns on her sides. She splayed a hand over the woman's pajamas on her abdomen, sliding it up between the valley of her breasts, over her collarbone, up her throat, sliding it around to the back of her neck and drawing her down until their lips connected once more.

Regina knew they couldn't do this here, they were too exposed and Henry was still awake, but Emma's mouth was so tempting, her tongue insistent as it fought for permission to enter Regina's mouth. Finally she conceded, massaging her own tongue against the blonde's. "Bed. Now." It was all she could manage without losing the connection of their mouths.

Emma nodded, not breaking the kiss for even a moment.

Regina moved off the woman below her, backing towards the exit, drawing the younger woman by her mouth. She knew they'd have to break apart soon to be able to crawl back out and she was trying to get as much of a kiss in as she could before they were forced to separate.

Everything went dim around them. Someone had turned out the light in the family room. Both women glanced up, breaking their connection.

A moment later, Henry appeared out of the tunnel and into the space. "Can we sleep in here tonight Momma? Emma?"

Emma expected Regina to object. It was just blankets and pillows on the floor after all and she had to be up for work in the morning, they both did. But to everyone's surprise, including her own, the brunette found herself nodding. "Of course we can."

There was a debate over who got to sleep next to whom, but in the end, Henry was victorious, curling up happily between the two women in his life, his face tucked against Regina's chest as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

The two women lay on opposite pillows, facing each other. Emma lifted a hand, tracing the arch of the brunette's eyebrow, down the slope of her nose, over the curve of her upper lip and finally coming to rest on her cheek for a prolonged moment before pulling away.

Regina caught the hand in its retreat, smiling. She pulled it back, wrapping it around her and then wrapping her own arm around the blonde, sealing them together with Henry cocooned tightly between them.

Emma grinned before closing her eyes, her hand stroking circles on the small of the brunette's back.

And together, the little family drifted off.


	22. Emma's First Test Of Motherhood

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: okay, so we're getting close to the moment where the drama-llama will rear her fuzzy head, but until then enjoy this angsty fluffiness.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 22: Emma's First Test Of Motherhood**

Emma awoke to a dim haze. It took her a moment to blink away the last wisps of her dream and get her bearings in the morning half dark. A sheet blocked her view of any sort of ceiling. That's right, they'd slept in the fort at Henry's request. The ache in her shoulder was quick to remind her that blankets on the floor do not a bed make, unless of course, you're a four legged creature with a glossy coat and a wagging tail.

She was no longer in the position she'd fallen asleep in. Looking to her right, she saw that none of them were. Henry had moved from between them to drape himself haphazardly across Regina's torso. The brunette was on her back, one arm wrapped protectively around the five year old on top of her. Her other arm was still reaching towards Emma, a hand splayed across Emma's lower abdomen, right across the familiar scar. Her white tank had ridden up as she slept, exposing the flesh above the waistband of her shorts. She knew she should move the hand but she enjoyed the feeling too much; Regina's touch felt at home against her skin. She dragged a fingertip around the edges of the woman's splayed fingers as if she were outlining her handprint on her flesh.

The nails of the hand dug in softly.

Emma's eyes lifted and met brown eyes in the hazy dimness. She smiled at the older woman. "Good morning." Even though it was a whisper in the darkness, it seemed to echo in their little cavern.

Regina returned the smile. The smile fell into a wince as her body adjusted a little and she felt the soreness in her muscles. "I do believe this was a one night engagement."

Emma chuckled softly. She sat up and stretched. "You get to wake up his highness. I'll go get breakfast started." She turned away. The hand that had been on her stomach tangled in the thin cotton of her tank top, pulling her back down close. She turned to look at the brunette questioningly.

Regina said nothing, just looked meaningfully down at the blonde's lips to indicate what it was she wanted.

Emma obliged, leaning down and kissing the older woman soundly.

Regina's hand left the blonde's tank to curl around the back of her neck and hold them together. Finally, she allowed the deputy to pull back but even then only an inch. Brown eyes stared up into green. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."

Emma remembered the mayor pressed firmly against her backside just twenty four hours prior, the whispered promise in her ear. She shivered at the memory. "We have all the time in the world for that." She pressed a gentle kiss to the firm lips beneath hers. "I'm not going anywhere." She pulled back and disappeared into the tunnel that would lead her out of the fort.

Regina stared after her long after she'd gone. "No, you aren't, not if I get my way."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It had been a very long time since she had felt a need to go upstairs in City Hall. All community meetings were held in the big open convention room downstairs and Mary Margaret made it a point to avoid even looking at the staircase on the days she chose to attend, let alone actually going up it. The second floor was the mayor's territory and the schoolteacher strove to refrain from any confrontations with the woman. That generally meant avoiding City Hall altogether, especially the second floor.

Yet here she found herself, standing in the mid-January early morning air, among the snow-covered grounds, staring up at the yellow and white building with the red doors. City Hall, the lair of one Mayor Mills. She took a deep breath and released it, watching as it made a visible puff in the air. She could already feel herself losing her nerve. Regina had always been intimidating, a force to be reckoned with. And it never had been a secret that she and Regina did not get along. There had been a veil of hostility between them as far back as she could remember. The mayor went out of her way to ignore the schoolteacher's very existence and Mary Margaret in turn tried to make herself as invisible as possible.

Steeling her nerves, she took one more deep breath and picked her way up the ice covered walk to one of the red doors. She was here for a reason. For Emma, though the blonde didn't know it yet. She had to do this.

City Hall was fairly empty. Most of the staff wouldn't get here until just before Regina did, some just after. Nothing could proceed in this town without her say so. Regina wasn't in yet; it was still early. Mary Margaret didn't have an appointment and she knew her only chances of getting seen hinged on being here when the mayor arrived. Once her day had actually started, she'd just say she was too busy to bother with Mary Margaret. She had to catch her unaware if she had any chance of making this work.

The small waiting room style lobby was empty, though the secretary's purse sat just to the side of her desk indicating she was already in for the morning somewhere in the building. Mary Margaret sat in a chair facing the wall clock. Regina would be in before she needed to leave to get to school on time, but she still wanted to keep an eye on the clock just in case.

Her wait wasn't long. Thirteen minutes later, Regina breezed in from the hall into her front office. She was impeccably put together as she always was, dressed in a tight slate gray pencil skirt and matching blazer, a loose fitting blood red silk blouse and a pair of black pumps completing the outfit. The teacher would never understand how she walked in those shoes year round.

The mayor froze when she saw who was sitting there, waiting for her to take notice of her presence with a timid look. "Miss Blanchard?" She glanced towards her secretary's empty desk with narrowed eyes, placing blame for this mishap with the easiest and most convenient target she could.

Mary Margaret, now that she'd been acknowledged, stood. She knew she had to tread carefully here. "I was hoping I could speak with you. I know I don't have an appointment but..."

Regina smirked, seeing her way out of this situation. "Miss Blanchard, I am a very busy woman and my time is valuable. There is a _reason_ I keep a schedule. Please call my office at your earliest convenience and make an appointment." She brushed past and to the door of the inner office.

"Please... It's about Emma." Mary Margaret saw her chance slipping away and she threw out the only thing she could think of that would get a reaction from the mayor.

It worked. Regina froze.

"Just hear me out. I promise, you'll like what I have to say."

Regina turned halfway back. She eyed the schoolteacher up and down. "You have five minutes Miss Blanchard, don't make me regret it."

Mary Margaret followed the mayor into her office. She stared around the big room. It was as it had always been, black, white, and about as inviting as the woman who'd decorated it.

Regina closed the door. "The clock is ticking Miss Blanchard." She already had no patience for what she had already determined was a lost cause. Nothing this woman told her could possibly be of interest to her.

Mary Margaret sighed; Regina had never been patient. "I want to help you."

Regina laughed dryly as she crossed the room towards her desk. "Oh that's rich. You? Help me? And what is it that I need help with, may I ask?"

"With the one thing you haven't managed to get on your own... winning Emma's love." Mary Margaret didn't give the mayor time to object, instead launching into the plan that had been brewing in her mind for the past few days, ever since the bake sale. She passed her allotted five minutes soon enough but neither woman took notice. They were both too engrossed in the schoolteacher's plans.

As soon as she was finished, Regina walked around her desk and sat down in her chair.

"Do you think it'll work?"

Regina nodded. "I think it just might."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"So kid, what should we do today?" Emma closed the front door behind Katherine. She looked expectantly at the little boy standing in the foyer.

He shrugged. He was slightly pale and withdrawn.

She came up the four steps to the elevated part of the foyer and ruffled his hair before crouching down so she was level with him, concern filling her gaze. "Still not feeling awesome, huh buddy?"

He shook his little head, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. He wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in its crook.

She lifted him up into her arms, cradling him against her. "Hey, it's okay, I'm here." She knew she had to find something to distract him and quick, something that was low energy. She carried him to the stairs and took him up to the family room.

"How about you choose a movie for us to watch?" She set him down on the hardwood so he could go search through the DVD collection and pick a movie for them to watch.

Ten minutes later they were set up on the couch watching Rio. Emma had never seen it and wasn't too keen on doing so now; she had a grave aversion to birds. Watching movies about them, even animated ones was not her idea of a good time. But Henry seemed to like it and she wasn't about to rain on his parade when he was having a bad day.

The phone rang twenty minutes in and she pushed herself up off the couch to go answer it. She walked out and rushed down the stairs to the line in the foyer, grabbing the wireless receiver just before it was about to go to voicemail. "Mills residence, Emma Swan speaking."

"Yes, Deputy Swan, this is Dr. Whale. I'm calling regarding Henry's test results." His voice was professional and neutral, giving nothing away.

Emma felt panic bloom in the pit of her stomach. The weight of it settled there and she realised with a sinking feeling that this must be what Regina felt constantly, this feeling of helplessness, the feeling that she'd lost control over her own world. "Yes? Is he going to be okay?"

"Well I have some good news but also some bad news I'm afraid. Which would you like first?"

Emma felt her stomach flop. "Bad news first." She had a bad feeling she was going to need that good news to cheer her back up.

When Emma hung up the phone ten minutes later, she felt as if her world may have just tilted on its axis yet again.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina felt like she had been through the ringer as she came up the walk. It had been a long day; she had to work through lunch. She was exhausted. She opened the front door. "Emma darling? I'm home. Henry?" She shrugged out of her coat and hung it up in the coat closet.

Henry slid into the foyer from the living room. "Momma! Come dance with me!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the living room. She could hear music. It was a catchy tune. "It's my favourite song Momma! It's from Rio! Emma watched it with me today. The Beach Boys are up next." He grinned excitedly.

"The Beach Boys?" How did her son even know about the Beach Boys? She'd certainly never played them before.

"Emma says they only sing about sunny things but they have one song about a princess that she loves."

The blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"Sweetheart, where's Emma?"

Henry had let go of her hand to wiggle around in his version of dancing, which consisted mostly of hopping around while flailing his arms. She caught sight of the blonde's Ipod sitting in a dock, obviously set on some sort of playlist. "In the kitchen."

Regina smiled. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to go check on Emma." She waited for a nod of acknowledgment before crossing back to the opposite side of the foyer and into the kitchen corridor.

Miss Swan's back was to her when she stepped into the pristine black and white kitchen but the muscles in her back froze as if the blonde sensed her presence. She turned, something breaking on her face when she caught sight of Regina standing there. She immediately dropped the spoon she was holding, crossing the room and throwing her arms around the brunette's neck, burying her face there. She hugged her fiercely just as Henry had done to her just this afternoon.

Regina frowned, a hand coming up to rest on the back of the blonde's head, the other rubbing soothingly up and down her back. "Emma, darling, what's wrong?" She shrugged her shoulder to urge the woman up. Something was truly stressing her girlfriend out and she needed to know what so she could put a stop to it.

Emma unburied her face and looked up. She glanced into brown eyes a moment before sealing their lips together in a kiss filled with desperation.

Regina didn't fight it, sensing that Emma needed this. She wrapped her arms tightly around the blonde, holding her close. When the blonde finally released her for air, she was quick to press a flurry of kisses to the blonde's forehead. "I'm home baby, I'm here. I've got you."

Emma slowly relaxed in the embrace, laying her head against Regina's shoulder. She was quiet for several long moments before she spoke. "How do you do it? How are you so strong? So fearless? You tackle the world with such strength. You're brave." There was no mistaking the wonder in the younger woman's voice. Her admiration was obvious.

"I've just been doing it for a lot longer than you. I'm better trained."

Emma looked up. "Doing what?"

Regina pushed an escaped strand of golden hair behind an ear. "Being a mom." She gave the blonde a small smile. "Did you really think he didn't call me too? I may have a town to run but Henry always takes precedence, especially where his health is concerned."

Emma nodded. "I guess I should have figured."

"It was good news. What's got you so worked up?"

Emma looked stricken. "How is any of what he said _good_ news?"

Regina sighed. She sometimes forgot that the average human being didn't know how to interpret platelet levels and blood cell counts. "He's doing well in light of the surgery darling. These readings are much better than what they were last month. We'll monitor him, keep him on soft solids, he'll go for regular blood panels. Believe me, this is better than I had hoped."

Emma sucked in a lungful of air and nodded, letting herself be soothed by the older woman's words. "I'm scared for him."

Regina nodded, giving the blonde her best reassuring smile as she caressed the younger woman's jaw. "Welcome to motherhood."

Emma leaned in to steal another kiss but the ringing of her phone stopped her before her lips reached their destination.

"Get that. I'll go make sure Henry hasn't danced himself into a coma. And we are seriously going to have to discuss your taste in music." She released her grip on the blonde. "The Beach Boys, really?"

"It's just that one song. It's good." Emma picked up her ringing phone and accepted the call. "Go for Emma. Oh hey Mary Margaret, what's up?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina looked up as Emma entered the living room looking slightly puzzled. "What did Miss Blanchard want darling?" Like she didn't already know exactly what the schoolteacher had called about.

"She asked me to come over. She said it is urgent. She wouldn't say what it was about, just asked me if I wouldn't mind coming tonight."

Regina frowned in displeasure because it would be her normal reaction. "That woman has an impeccable sense of timing, doesn't she? How long will you be gone?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. A couple hours maybe? I'll call if I'm going to be really late." She came in, leaning down and ruffling Henry's hair where he was engrossed in the fairytale book she'd gotten him for Christmas. Then she went to the couch and Regina, giving the brunette a quick peck. "Dinner's simmering on the stove. Just turn it off at half past. I'll be back as soon as I can." She pressed one more lingering kiss to the older woman's pout.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Standing in front of the door of the flat, she paused, her key poised a few inches from the lock. There were muffled sounds coming from inside the small place she still shared with Mary Margaret on weekends. No specific voices could be discerned through the door but she heard a significant amount of scuffling as if things were being adjusted and readjusted over and over. What was going on in there? She unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping into the apartment.

She tripped over a pile of collected black trash bags that were set right in front of the door, comically flailing her arms to try and futilely maintain her balance before she found herself sprawled across the living room floor.

"Oh my gosh! Emma? Are you okay?" Mary Margaret came running over and crouched down, grabbing Emma's arms and helping to hoist her up. She brushed away imaginary lint from the blonde's clothes. "I'm so sorry. I asked Ruby to move those out of the way of the door but..."

"Ruby's here?" Emma quirked an eyebrow. She, now that she was actually in the flat could hear that all the noises were coming down from overhead, from the second floor. But the only thing up there was her room. Realisation dawned on her. "You let Ruby in my _room_?! Is she drunk again?" Emma leveled the schoolteacher with an accusatory glare. If Ruby couldn't curb her own drinking habits, she was going to need a friend to intervene.

Mary Margaret looked guilty. "Why don't you take a seat?" She gestured to the couch. "I can make us some tea."

Emma jerked a thumb towards the staircase. "Um sure, just let me go check and see if my stuff has survived whatever it is Ruby's doing up there." She took a step towards the staircase.

Mary Margaret shook her head, placing a hand on her forearm to stop her in her tracks. "I can assure you all your stuff is fine."

Emma stared down at the hand on her arm, her stomach starting to sink for the second time of the day. She narrowed her eyes. "How would you know?"

Mary Margaret gestured to the bags that Emma had tripped over on her way in. She patted the woman's forearm with the hand still resting on it. "Because it's all right there."

Emma stared at the stack with different perspective. Suddenly what had originally appeared to be bothersome trash now took new shape as she recognised the sleeve of a shirt dangling out through a rip in the plastic bag caused by her boot when she'd tripped over it. It was her own. "Is that my clothes? My stuff?"

Mary Margaret bit her lip, the look of guilt on her face only increasing. "Please Emma, sit down."

Emma was too shocked to object. She fell wordlessly onto the couch, staring blankly at her possessions. Somehow they seemed so impersonal sitting there by the door. It had never bothered her before but now she was struck by the weight of it. This was what her life had become... boxes and bags in apartment doorways. Suddenly, for the first time in twenty three years, it didn't seem to be enough.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma tossed her keys down on her desk. The clank echoed through the empty station. She glanced around the dark room. No one was here this late, all calls routed to Graham's cell. She fell into her chair and put her head down on her desk.

Somewhere in the back of her mind a voice was whispering to her to call Regina, but she ignored it. She knew the woman would ask her what Mary Margaret had needed her for so urgently. And she couldn't handle that right now. She had to think; she had to plan.

She pulled out the copy of the Storybrooke Mirror she'd gotten from a dispenser outside Granny's. She ignored the front page spread, instead flipping back to the small section on page eight labeled Classifieds. She skimmed through the meagre selections looking for openings. There were no requests for any roommates or any listings for houses or flats available for rent. Just as she had suspected.

She tossed the paper in the rubbish bin next to her desk and leaned back in the chair with a sigh. This was futile.

She glanced around the empty room. It was cold, no need to run the heater with no one around, but there was something comforting about the freezing cold air. She was almost numb to the cold as she thought over her conversation with her roommate, scratch that, her **former** roommate now.

She had to give Mary Margaret credit; the schoolteacher has been as gentle about it as possible, softening the blow as much as she could manage. Ruby needed to get out of Granny's. Lately there had been so much friction between the young brunette and her grandmother. They both thought it would be better if Ruby had some space. She'd maintain her shifts at the diner, but she'd be staying with Mary Margaret.

Emma had said she understood, because the practical part of her did. Why maintain a roommate who only occupied her room a couple nights a week? But the less practical part, the friend part, couldn't help feeling slightly betrayed. That was her room; she paid her rent, she deserved it. But it was better it went to Ruby, deep down she knew that. But where did that leave **her**?

The time ticked by without any acknowledgement from the blonde. The hour grew later, the night grew colder. Somewhere through the haze of her thoughts, she registered a buzz. It never occurred to her that it was her phone vibrating where she'd set it on her desk, though it was, the screen lighting up several times in a row with a picture of the mayoral mansion and the word _Home_. When several calls from that went unanswered, it lit up with the smiling face of the mayor, a picture captured when they had their first family outing at Granny's and Henry had said something amusing, the mayor's name where the word home had been previously. After nearly a half hour of subsequent unanswered attempts, the phone went silent and remained that way.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Emma?"

The blonde's head snapped up. When had Graham gotten here? "Don't tell me it's morning already?" She rubbed her eyes in the guise of wiping away sleep when really she was banishing her tears. She didn't want her boss to see her crying.

"No, uh, the mayor called me at home, asked me to come out and find you. You hadn't checked in and weren't picking up your phone when she tried to reach you. She said she would go out herself but she couldn't leave Henry alone." Graham looked tired, standing there in a wrinkled pair of jeans and a rumpled gray shirt that appeared to have been salvaged from his bedroom floor in his hurry to obey the mayor's order. His hair was a mess, his short beard a tangle. He had been awakened by the mayor's call, that much was obvious.

Emma turned to her desk, fumbling around until her hand closed around her phone and she pressed the button to illuminate the screen. Her lock screen cheerfully announced that she had fourteen missed calls, twelve of which were from Regina, either from the house line or her cell. "Shit! She's going to kill me." The other two were from the schoolteacher. She scrolled past them without blinking. She'd deal with them later. She looked back up at Graham, her face slightly guilty. "I'm sorry if she woke you up. I promised to call if I was going to be back late. What time is it anyway?"

She glanced down at her phone to check even as Graham muttered, "After midnight."

Emma groaned as she saw the digital clock on her lock screen showed one minute past one in the morning. Oh yea, Regina would have her head on a platter by dawn. "Crap." She pulled herself out of her chair, grabbing her keys. "I guess I should go home."

"Are you okay? You can um..." He ran his hand uncomfortably over his hair. "You can talk to me." He seemed like that was the last thing he truly wanted.

She decided to spare him. "Thank you, but I really need to get back to Regina's house. She's obviously freaking out if she called and woke you up. She's probably woken up half the town trying to find me." She squeezed his shoulder and walked past him. "Thanks for coming to find me."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stood, still in her skirt and red silk blouse, staring out into the night from the windows on the landing midway between the first and second floors of her house. The phone was clutched in her hand and she was torn between trying the blonde's phone again or calling Graham. He would just avoid her call if he hadn't found Emma yet.

What if she had already left town? Regina knew deep down that was her biggest fear. It was always there in the back of her mind, that looming deadline that was still uncertain, but intimidating all the same.

She'd received a call from Miss Blanchard hours ago now and the schoolteacher told her that Emma had left and seemed to be fine with the dismissal. She'd waited, sitting on the couch in the living room, listening for the sound of the blonde's beat up old bug to come up the street. An hour had passed before she finally began to believe that Emma was not on her way home. Another hour and she was starting to panic, imagining all the horrible possibilities of what could be delaying the blonde. She had even placed a call to the hospital but they said she hadn't checked in there. Relieved she had calmed enough to consider that maybe the blonde had just stopped to have a drink. But a quick call around to the few local haunts in town had proved fruitless as well. Finally she had tried Emma herself repeatedly. Nothing. Graham was a last resort, but she was desperate. She knew he'd jump up to obey the demand, and he had. But still, there was no sign of Emma.

As if summoned by her very thoughts, the yellow bug pulled slowly onto Mifflin Street. The blonde was driving slower than usual, probably in an effort to keep the normal rumble her car made under control. It was after one in the morning after all, most of the neighbourhood was already asleep. The car pulled to a stop in front of the house.

She couldn't wait any longer. She raced down the stairs. Her pumps had been removed along with her blazer and nylons earlier after dinner with her son. She padded barefoot across the hardwood foyer and to the front door, throwing it open. She watched the blonde reluctantly exit her car and trudge up the walkway, her boots crunching through the sheen of ice that had covered the walkway from the nighttime frosty air. Her eyes were blank, unseeing, and downcast, nothing like the normal vibrancy the younger woman exuded.

Emma stopped a few feet from the stoop as she caught sight of the older woman framed in the light of the doorway. She frowned as if she didn't understand why the older woman was standing there. Finally, as an afterthought, she nodded as if this were to be expected and she resumed her shuffle, stepping straight past the brunette and into the house.

Regina bit her lip and closed the door. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't this. She locked the deadbolt and flipped off the outside light. She turned to the blonde.

Emma had frozen in the middle of the foyer. She glanced back at Regina with lost eyes.

Regina stepped closer to the blonde. She held out a hand for the younger woman to take, wiggling her fingers impatiently when Emma made no move to take her hand. Finally, with a sigh, she clasped the younger woman's hand herself. She pulled her toward the parlour, dragging her inside and closing the door, locking it behind them. She released Emma's hand and walked over to the sidebar. Her cider decanter was still there. She grabbed it and two crystal tumblers, bringing them over to the couch. She set them on the coffee table as she sat down on the couch, glancing up at blonde lingering by the door. "I won't bite Miss Swan... unless you want me to."

Emma came over after a second of hesitation, sitting down next to the brunette, though Regina noticed she kept some distance between them.

She poured the glass half full and pushed it across the table until it was before the blonde. She poured a sizeable amount less into her own glass before putting the stopper back in the top. She picked the crystal up and took a drink.

"I'm sorry you had to call Graham."

"You didn't call. I was worried."

"I lost track of time; I'm sorry."

Under normal circumstances, Regina would never tolerate what had transpired. She didn't let people unnerve her as Miss Swan had tonight. But then again, things had never been normal when it came to Emma Swan. "What did Miss Blanchard want?" It seemed an innocent enough question to ask.

Emma visibly flinched. "Um, she needed me to pick some things up."

Regina continued with the charade, scoffing. "That was what she deemed urgent?"

Emma nodded, just now reaching for her own glass. She stared down into the liquid in the glass without taking a sip. She dreaded the next words that were going to leave her mouth, but there was no avoiding them. She had thought it over in those hours at the station. This was her only option. "I think I have to leave Storybrooke."

This time, Regina's shock was not the least bit faked. She choked on the mouthful of alcohol she was consuming, coughing violently as the alcohol seared its way down her throat. This was **not** the plan. "What?! What are you talking about? Explain yourself Miss Swan!"

Emma took a long pull from her glass, setting it back down as she licked her lips. She ran her hands up and down her thighs in nervousness, giving herself a moment to choose her words. "Mary Margaret kicked me out of the flat. Ruby is having a hard time with Granny and she needed a cheap place to crash." Emma grabbed the glass and took another big gulp. "I guess it makes sense. I am an outsider here after all."

Regina felt her heart crack. This was not how this was supposed to go. "Baby, no, you're not an outsider." She grabbed the blonde's hand. "Don't feel that way."

Emma pulled her hand back. "Aren't I though? I don't fit in here."

Regina frowned, anger prickling just below the surface. "There's a little boy asleep upstairs who'd say otherwise, as would I."

Emma met brown eyes. The moment she saw how wounded Regina looked, she regretted speaking so impulsively. For the first time, her haze started to break apart, the world around her coming back to her awareness. "Regina... I'm sorry. I didn't mean that how it sounded. I just... I'm not ready to leave Storybrooke yet. I was just starting to get used to the whole small town thing and I... I actually like it here. The people, the sense of community, Henry... and _you're_ here." She shook her head. "For the first time in my life, I want to stay for just a little while longer."

Regina realised then how confusing this must be for the blonde. It wasn't that Mary Margaret evicted her that was throwing her for a loop, not truly. It was that, normally, she'd just shrug it off and move on, but she was finding herself unable to just walk away this time. "So, stay." She grabbed for Emma's hand again, holding it tighter than before.

"But Mary Margaret kicked me out. I've spent the last few hours at the station going through the classifieds and thinking of ways to make this work. There's no place for me to go." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe the nuns would take me if I promised to convert."

Regina rolled her eyes, abandoning the blonde's hand to put a hand firmly to each cheek, directing the blonde's face to hers. "You're not going anywhere, okay? You'll move in here, with me, and Henry. You're here half the week anyway. It should have been this way from the start, _you here_, with us. We're just correcting a mistake."

Green eyes brightened and seemed to reignite as she processed what Regina was saying. It hadn't even occurred to her to live here. But now it seemed so obvious, the answer that had been in front of her all along. She searched the older woman's intense brown eyes for any sign of reluctance, but she couldn't find one. She nodded, bringing a brilliant smile to Regina's face. "We'll have to discuss rent of course, and my share of expenses..."

Regina's hands dropped from her face. "I'm not charging you rent Miss Swan. That's preposterous."

Emma frowned. "I won't willingly be a financial burden to you Regina. I **will** pay rent."

Regina shook her head. "I refuse to charge you anything."

Emma shrugged in resignation. "Then I can't stay here with you."

"And why the hell not?" Regina felt the anger once again bubble up inside her.

Emma came back with a matching anger. "Because!"

There was desperation in the blonde's eyes and tone that she couldn't hide. Regina picked up on it instantly. This wasn't about rent; it was about maintaining that small sliver of control, that little piece of freedom that she needed to wrap around herself at all times. She could give her that much. She took a moment to let the anger ebb away before she spoke. "Okay. How about we compromise?"

Emma nodded. "I'm listening."

"You stay here rent free..." She held up a finger when the blonde opened her mouth to object. "And I will stop paying your wages to be Henry's nanny. You will earn your room and board by caring for him while I'm at work. Deal?"

Emma released a breath, giving the brunette a lopsided smile and a nod. "Fair enough, I can live with that."

Regina smiled. "As can I." She grabbed her glass and took a sip.

Emma grabbed the glass from her hands and set it back on the table. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck and pulled her close. "I should have just come home, to you. I'm so used to dealing with everything alone. Until Graham came in, I didn't even realised I'd be missed."

Regina grabbed the younger woman's hips, pulling her over and into her lap. She wrapped firm arms around the blonde's waist, her hands sliding up to the woman's upper back, holding her in the hug. "I am finding that I miss you even when you're only a room away. You scared me tonight."

Emma felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Her history would suggest that she would have run tonight. And, if she were being honest with herself, she would have. But something about this town, this _woman_... it felt like home. Regina felt like home. She was finding that the thought of leaving, now or ever, slipped farther into the recesses of her mind everyday. When had her heart decided it wanted to stay? "I owe you so much."

"You owe me nothing darling, nothing. You have given me so much." She turned her head to kiss Emma's temple, down to her cheek, urgent presses of her lips to flesh. "You make me so happy Emma."

Emma smiled against the flesh of the brunette's throat. She wasn't sure when those words had seemed to lose the edge of fear that had always accompanied sentiments such as that for her before. But she was finding that she wanted to make Regina happy; she wanted to always be the cause of happiness in her life. And though she couldn't bring herself to utter the words even now, Emma Swan knew, without even the tiniest hint of doubt, that she really was in love, for the first time, for the only time.


	23. All For The Best

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: happy easter everyone. i personally don't celebrate, but to all who do, have a happy day Sunday. only two more weeks and my laptop will be returned to me and i can get to updates for all my stories, not just this one, but until then, i'll do my best to keep sneaking updates for this story. thank you to all who continue to follow, favourite, and review. it means the world to me. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 23: All For The Best**

Morning came all too quickly for Emma Swan, thanks to her late night. But waking up in Regina's arms softened the blow. She buried her nose in the brunette's soft locks and breathed in deeply, letting the soft scent, a mixture of apples and the woman's delicate perfume, fill her nostrils. The room was dim in the early morning stillness, dust motes swirling in the rays of soft light cutting in from between the drawn curtains. The world was quiet, on pause, stopped for them.

Emma looked at the woman who held her, wrapped in a protective embrace, her arms locked around her. Even in sleep, her fear that the blonde would run out on her manifested itself physically. Her grip was tight and unwavering.

All the emotions from the previous night had exhausted the blonde. She'd wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and crash. Regina had tried to convince her to eat some of the leftovers from dinner, promising to reheat them for her herself, but Emma had refused. She had been too tired, too drained, encouraging the brunette to do what she wanted, but she had stumbled to the stairs. She had just began to open the door to her room, content to fall into bed alone, when arms had wrapped tightly around her waist, dragging her backward into her embrace, saying huskily in her ear that she was never going to sleep in the guest room again if Regina had any say in the matter. Emma had been too tired to even attempt any sort of objections. Let Regina think she had the victory for now.

She had kicked off her boots and took off her jacket, dropping it on top of the boots on the floor. Her head had barely hit the pillow before she was out. Regina had stripped, not bothering to get into her pajamas, but just collapsing on top of the already limp body of the deputy, curling around her.

Emma thought of the stuff in her car that she had to bring in. She'd unload it into the spare room before going into the station. The three trash bags wouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to unpack. Regina would be displeased that she was keeping the guest room as her space, but moving into the mayor's house was one thing, moving into the master suite with her was a little more than she was ready to take on at the moment.

She nuzzled against the brunette's cheek, placing soft kisses up her jaw to her ear. She snuggled deeper into the woman's arms as she sucked the woman's earlobe into her mouth, bathing it with her tongue.

Regina moaned low in her throat.

Emma smirked now that she was sure the brunette was awake, her tongue sneaking out to trace the shell of the older woman's ear.

Regina wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde, pressing their bodies hard against one another. "I'm not ready to wake up." Her voice was somewhere between a whine and another moan, only half truthful in her objections.

Emma raised an eyebrow. She wiggled her way out of the brunette's grip and slipped underneath the covers.

Regina frowned a little bit as she felt Emma pull from her embrace but she was too content in the place between asleep and awake to object. She snuggled deeper against her pillow and tried to lull herself back to sleep. There was still time before her alarm would go off and her day would be forced to begin.

That was until something hot and wet moved against her thigh. Curiosity finally won out and her eyes slid reluctantly open. A prominent lump was visible underneath the duvet as the blonde continued to trail her tongue teasingly over the sensitive flesh of the brunette's inner thigh. A kiss was pressed against the apex of her thighs over the satin of her underwear. Her hips bucked up as she was suddenly wide awake. "Emma..." She exhaled the blonde's name in a whisper.

The lump moved and the younger woman's head emerged from the duvet. "Awake yet?" She smirked playfully.

Regina put a hand on each cheek and drew the blonde's mouth up to hers, pulling her into a deep kiss.

Emma crawled up her body, draping her thin frame over the older woman's. She nipped at the woman's bottom lip, staring down into her eyes lustily. "Can we just forget work and stay in bed today?"

Regina smiled, kissing the blonde's lips in soft quick pecks. "I wish we could." Oh how did she wish they could. But life had this nasty habit of refusing to be ignored and theirs lurked just beyond the confines of the mattress, calling them back to the real world.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Mary Margaret watched the clock high on the wall behind the counter at Granny's as she sipped her morning tea, watching the second hand tick away. There was nothing special about the time. 7:26. It wasn't particularly special. She'd already stared longingly out of the corner of her eye as she did most weekday mornings at precisely 7:15 as David Nolan had come in for his morning coffee before starting his shift at the pet shelter next door. But he was always gone before 7:18. She had already enjoyed her two minute twelve second span of togetherness in which they shared nothing more than a friendly smile and a nod of greeting, sometimes going so far as to offer a word of hello or the occasional lift of a cup in acknowledgment. No, now she was waiting for the second hand to count down to 7:27 for a meeting of a different sort.

Just as the second hand clicked the last few strokes to the top of the clock, the bell over the door jangled as a new patron entered the diner. She didn't have to wait for the telltale click of stilettos on linoleum to know it was Regina. They had agreed to meet here, under the guise of a happenstance occurrence to discuss how Mary Margaret's plan went.

Ruby came bustling over the second she saw Regina enter the diner. Everyone had always been attuned to the woman's presence. She demanded immediate attention just by being in the room; all eyes always went to her. "Good morning Mayor Mills. You're usual?"

Regina gave an affirmative incline of her head. "I think I'll have it here Miss Lucas; I'm a little ahead of schedule today."

Ruby's brow furrowed momentarily. It could be easily argued that Regina always had somewhere she needed to be or something she needed to be doing, but she wisely chose not to comment to that affect. She was quite fond of her life after all, and she could see her chances of survival lowering substantially if she back talked the mayor. "Coming right up."

Regina waited until the young woman had flounced off before she sat herself on the stool that had always been her seat back in the days before Henry, when her life had been all about me, myself, and I. She set her elbows carefully on the counter and clasped her hands underneath her chin.

Mary Margaret tried to act nonchalant, which she failed horribly at. Her poor acting skills wouldn't fool Henry, let alone any adult with half a brain, but luckily for them both, they were alone in the diner except for Leroy nursing his newest hangover with black coffee down at the opposite end of the counter. But his head was resting on his folded arms and the low grumbling coming from him and his coffee gone cold suggested that he wasn't aware of his own presence, let alone there's.

The schoolteacher sipped her tea and spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "Last night was a success it seemed." She looked proud of herself that everything in her little scheme had seemed to go smoothly.

Regina's back stiffened. "Miss Swan has agreed to make my home her permanent residence, which was the goal of your little plan, so on the surface it would appear to be a success."

Mary Margaret's face fell a little at the mayor's words and her crisp tone. "On the surface?"

Regina gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Having Miss Lucas there was a little much, don't you think? I thought we agreed that you would break the news to her gently."

The schoolteacher looked taken aback. "I did. Having Ruby there... I just thought it would make the situation more convincing."

"Miss Blanchard, if you ever put that look on her face again, I swear..." She took a deep breath to keep her thinly veiled temper from boiling over. "Miss Swan is precious to me; I will not tolerate you hurting her, regardless of whether I benefit from the end result or not. She had one foot out the door; she was about to leave town."

Mary Margaret dropped all pretenses of their chance meeting and turned fully on her stool to regard the mayor. "She seemed perfectly fine with everything when she left."

"Living with her these past few weeks has obviously not made you an expert on the ways of Emma Swan. I had to spend last night picking up the pieces that you broke. She's your friend and she even admitted that she thought Ruby deserved the place more than she did, that's why she didn't let you see her hurt, because she doesn't blame **you**. She blames _herself_ Miss Blanchard."

Mary Margaret, timid meek thing that she was, looked heartbroken. "I never meant for her to... I just thought it would give her that nudge she needed to commit. If I..."

Regina stood abruptly. "I don't have time for what ifs. What is done is done." She looked to the young brunette just returning with her typical morning order. "Change of plans Miss Lucas. It seems I will need that to go."

Ruby froze, looking for a moment between the crushed look on Mary Margaret's face and the cold mask of displeasure on the mayor's. She nodded, not wanting to be the next victim of the older lady's wrath. "To go. Got it." She turned on her heel and disappeared back the way she came, desperate to get back out of the line of fire.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Whatcha doin'?" Henry flopped himself onto the bed in the guest room, staring at the blonde as she dug around through a black trash bag.

Emma looked up from her task and smiled at him. "Just hanging up some clothes."

"Do you live here now?" Henry tilted his head as he regarded her.

Emma took note of his hopeful expression with a sense of relief. "Yea, buddy, I do. If that's okay with the Prince of Storybrooke of course?"

He adopted an air of superiority and waved it off. "You have my royal permission."

She bowed deeply. "Why thank you, Your Highness."

They both grinned at each other and burst into fits of laughter.

Emma reached over and ruffled his hair before resuming putting away her clothes.

"Aren't you staying in Momma's room?" He crawled across the bed and peered down into the trash bag, taking note of its contents.

She bit her lip. "For the most part."

"Why is your stuff here then?"

Emma paused by the open closet door, thinking how she would ever possibly manage to explain her need for freedom to a five year old boy. She couldn't even explain them to herself most days. Finally, an idea came to her. "Don't you sleep in your Momma's bed with her sometimes?"

He nodded. "Sometimes, when there's fire in the sky, she lets me sleep with her."

So the kid didn't like lightning... She couldn't blame him, neither did she. "But you still have your room too right?"

He nodded.

She shrugged. "I need a room too, so on the nights when I don't sleep in your Momma's bed, I have somewhere to go."

He was quiet for a long time, thinking over what she'd said before he nodded, finding her logic sound. "Momma is happy you're here all the time now. She said so last night."

Emma frowned. She'd been with Regina from the moment she'd told her the news to the moment she'd left for work less than an hour ago. How had she missed that conversation? "Henry, when did..."

The doorbell interrupted what she had been about to say.

Henry slid off the bed and ran for the door. "That must be Miss Nolan."

She watched him disappear with an amused smile as she emptied the last of the third bag, carrying her jeans and setting them in the dresser drawer before closing it. She exited the room to see the older blonde standing in the foyer listening to Henry regale her with the epic retelling of his life from the mind of a five year old. Katherine, for her part, pretended to be appropriately enthralled.

"Good, you're here." Emma came down the stairs. "I'm off to work then. I'll be back at one. You." She pointed to Henry as she playfully narrowed her eyes. "Behave yourself for Miss Nolan."

He nodded and gave her a quick salute.

She returned the gesture before crouching down next to him and pulling him into a quick hug. "I'll be back at one, okay? Be good. I love you."

He wrapped his little arms around her, his tiny fingers tangling in the back of her sweater. "I love you too Emma."

She stood and gave Katherine a quick smile before grabbing her coat from the closet and departing. She was halfway to her car when she realised the words she'd just uttered. _I love you_. She had said she loved someone. And the world hadn't ended. In fact, it had begun to turn regularly.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Her phone buzzed on the corner of her desk for the third time since she'd arrived into the station that morning. She lifted her eyes from the paperwork she was filling out to glance at the brightly lit screen, enough to see the name of the person sending her the text message before the screen went dark again from being ignored. Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Emma ignored it and went back to her paperwork. She wasn't upset with her former roommate and fast friend, not truly. But she had no idea what to say to the woman. She wasn't sure she had the energy to pretend she hadn't been hurt but the sudden eviction, but she had no right to be and that caused her more distress than and she wasn't sure she could justify her bruised pride to the schoolteacher. Especially when everything had turned out rather well. She had a roof over her head still, a job, she got to spend her afternoon's with a kid she loved and her evenings with a woman she was slowly becoming incapable of imagining life without. The was no reason to begrudge the pixie haired brunette anything.

Yet she did. All her life, Emma Swan had known abandonment. From infancy to adulthood, one right after the other, people had given up on her. She'd been abandoned, returned, passed over, like an unwanted toy exchanging hands throughout the years. Mary Margaret, a woman she had trusted despite herself, had just been the latest name on a long list of people who hadn't seen something worth keeping in the blonde. She couldn't really blame the woman; what was special enough about her that someone as nice as Mary Margaret would even want to keep her around?

As much as the schoolteacher's actions pushed her closer to Regina, something which her heart insisted was a good thing, her brain, the practical part of her that ran on logic and past experience, told her to pull back from the mayor, to not let her in any further than she had already infiltrated. She too would one day decide Emma had reached the limits of her usefulness and cast her out. She knew by now that her feelings for Henry's mother ran deep, and if Regina turned her back on her, she'd never survive it.

"Aren't you gonna get that?"

She jumped a little in her seat, jarred from her thoughts by her boss' sudden presence beside her. He set a steaming cup of tea on her desk and gestured to where her phone was buzzing with yet another text message.

She shook her head. "It's not important." She turned back to her paperwork, clearly dismissing him and any advice he was thinking about offering on the situation.

"I don't know what's going on between you and Mary Margaret, Emma, but Ruby said that the mayor put her through the ringer about it at the diner this morning. Maybe you should give her a break. I've known Mary Margaret a long time and she's probably kicking herself for whatever happened far more than you are. You should forgive her yea?" He turned and went back towards his office.

Emma brooded on his words for a long moment before reaching over and grabbing her phone. The four texts were all from her former roommate. The first had been sent right before eight, just a quick note before the woman would have had to start class, apologising for the previous night. The second had been sent just after ten, probably during first recess, another apology and a request that they discuss things. The third and forth were requests that they meet up for lunch to talk things over.

Emma set the phone back down with a sigh. She knew if she asked Graham, he'd let her go. They were never busy, nothing of note seemed to occur in Storybrooke, at least not in the world of crime. He'd send her off with a wave and a few nice words of encouragement and that would be that. But she couldn't bring herself to ask him, or to face the woman, not yet. She wasn't ready to confront what she was feeling to herself let alone anyone else. Mary Margaret would have to wait.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Mary Margaret sat in a corner booth, glancing at her watch every five seconds and then looking up to the wall clock to confirm what she already knew; Emma wasn't going to come. There had been a small part of her that hoped that the blonde would just show up, not having bothered to waste the energy replying to any of her texts, but just come stumbling in with her nose red from the chilly air, rubbing her hands together to get some feeling back into them. She'd plop down into the other side of the booth and shout for Ruby to get her a hot cocoa to warm her up.

But it seemed that she had been wrong. Emma wasn't coming. The lunch hour was almost over and she'd be just about ready to leave the station to return to the mayoral mansion and care for Henry by now. She tried to console her bruised feelings; maybe Emma had forgotten her phone at home and hadn't gotten any of her texts. It was possible, though she knew it was unlikely. Still, she clung to the hope that she hadn't blown things between her and the young woman who had quickly become her best friend.

"No sign of her huh?" Ruby paused beside the table with a fresh to go cup, giving her an apologetic expression as they both stared out the front window to the snowy expanse of Main Street. A couple brave citizens passed by, their heads tucked down against the cold, but none of them were the blonde deputy.

"No." Mary Margaret's face fell and she turned away from the window.

Ruby couldn't really blame the blonde; she'd probably react the same way if she were in her shoes. But she saw how much Mary Margaret was already beating herself up over the situation and she wasn't about to say something that would make matters worse. "Give her time. She'll come around."

Mary Margaret released a sigh that said she didn't believe Ruby for a second. "I hope so."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The house was quiet as Regina entered it. She had gotten off work a couple hours early and decided to surprise her son and the blonde, but they didn't rush out to greet her as she called out to them. The house was dark, both upstairs and down.

She hung up her coat and checked downstairs. Every room was unoccupied. Upstairs yielded the same results. Just as the panic reared its ugly head, she heard Emma's laugh. It seemed to be coming from outside.

Regina walked through the dining room to the wall of windows that faced the back yard. The snow that had been untouched this morning was churned up by boots and she saw her two favourite people playing in the snow. Henry was building some kind of structure that vaguely resembled something close to an igloo and Emma was tickling him as they both giggled.

She smiled to herself as she watched them play.

Henry escaped from Emma's tickling hands, running around the trunk of her apple tree, bare of fruit at this time of year, using it to maintain distance from the grinning blonde woman. He reached down and scooped up a handful of snow, forming it into a misshapen snowball. He held it up, half in defense, half in threat.

"You wouldn't dare?!" Emma's voice was clear from across the back yard. She was staring at the boy with comically wide eyes as if she never expected the betrayal, while her hands were working behind her back to scrape a sizeable glob of snow off the igloo she was standing in front of.

She stepped away from the window and went through the two way door into the kitchen and then into the kitchen corridor to the back door. She opened it and stepped out onto the back stoop just as both snowballs sailed towards their targets, each a direct hit. Both stared at each other with open mouths before quickly leaning down to scoop up a new one.

She cleared her throat loudly, the sound echoing across the back yard, causing both parties to pause in the production of their respective arsenals. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Time to come inside and clean up for dinner young man. I'm treating everyone to Granny's."

"Milkshake!" Henry tossed all his snow in the air over his shoulder as he bolted over to the door, past his mother, and then inside. She smiled after him before turning back to the blonde.

Emma crooked a finger and beckoned her out into the white wasteland of the back yard.

She considered objecting, but in the end she kicked her heels off and stepped into the snow boots she kept just inside the kitchen corridor, closing the back door and stepping out into the snow. It crunched beneath her boots as she picked her way over to the blonde. She traced a hand over the awkward structure with a raised eyebrow.

"It's supposed to be a house for Carl. Henry thought he couldn't come home with us because he didn't have a place to stay." The blonde shrugged with a wistful smile at the innocence of little children.

Regina stepped in close to the blonde, pressing against her as the air started to seep through her blazer. It had been foolish to come out here without her coat.

Emma unzipped the front of her winter coat, pulling it around the brunette, encasing the older woman in its warmth as much as she could manage.

Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde's body underneath the coat, sighing into the warmth as she nuzzled her neck. "We have to go get ready for dinner." Despite this declaration, she made no move towards the house.

Emma nodded knowingly, holding the woman all the tighter. "Oh of course, let's get right on that." She grinned as Regina sighed contentedly, frozen where she was.

After several long moments, Regina stepped back out of the embrace. "We really need to get inside."

Emma pouted.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Come on Miss..." She didn't finish her sentence as her boot hit a patch of ice and she began to fall backwards.

Emma reached out, catching the woman's forearm and pulling her back against her. The air left her lungs as the brunette collided harder than she anticipated with her torso. And then they were both falling backwards with a yelp of surprise.

"Oompf." Whatever breath remained in Emma left as her back plunged through the snow and hit the hard ground beneath. Regina's weight landing firmly on top of her didn't help matters. As soon as her head stopped spinning and adjusted to her new position, she looked up into dark eyes, staring down at her intensely.

Regina's released a small giggle that could rival that of any schoolgirl's.

Emma leaned up and crashed their lips together, swallowing the woman's merriment.

It took Regina a moment to get over her surprise and register that she was being kissed before she was able to respond. She pressed the blonde back down into the snow, deepening the kiss. The cold was starting to seep into her again but, all of a sudden, that seemed to matter less and less.

When the need for air became unbearably pressing, she released the younger woman's mouth.

They stared into each other's eyes for a long drawn out moment, their peripherals roaming aimlessly over each other's faces, soaking in how they each looked in this moment, but their eyes stayed locked, neither one willing to break the connection first, despite the wetness soaking into their clothes from the snow being melted by their body heat.

Henry did it for them. "Momma! Emma!"

Regina quickly clambered off the blonde and stood, brushing the snow off where she could as she regarded her son. "Coming sweetheart." She offered a hand to the blonde.

Emma accepted the help, smiling shyly as she was hoisted up. She didn't release the older woman's hand as they made their way back through the snow to the little boy waiting impatiently on the stoop.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma slid into an available booth when they entered the diner. She looked at the menu, scanning the establishments other patrons with peripherals, looking for her former roommate. She really didn't want to have to talk to Mary Margaret in front of Regina and Henry. She knew how the mayor felt about the schoolteacher and she didn't want to encourage a scene. Luckily, Mary Margaret did not seem to be in attendance. She sighed in relief and truly turned her focus to the menu.

Regina sat down in the booth beside her and Henry flopped in on the other side, grinning like a fool. He'd been babbling about milkshake possibilities the whole ride over. He didn't even give the menu a cursory glance, having already decided on chocolate at some point between when they'd arrive at Granny's and when they'd actually sat down.

Ruby strolled up to the table with big smiles for all of them. Emma suddenly found her menu fascinating, focusing all her attention on reading through entrees she knew she'd never eat. She had no idea what to say to the younger woman. None of this was the waitress' fault and she didn't blame her, but what was she supposed to say to her? Should she pretend nothing had happened? That nothing at all had changed?

"Emma?" Ruby raised her eyebrows.

Emma looked up, just realising she'd been asked something. "Sorry?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Something to drink?"

Emma looked back down at the menu. "Water will be fine, thanks."

Ruby's lips turned down in the barest hint of a frown and she nodded. "Coming right up." She walked away just as the bell over the diner door echoed through the crowded room.

Emma glanced over her shoulder on reflex and felt her stomach sink as her eyes met the schoolteacher's. She quickly continued scanning the rest of the crowd as if she hadn't seen the woman and then turned her attention to Regina. "Anything important happen at work today?"

Regina shrugged. "Just the usual."

Emma stiffened as she saw a shadow fall across their table. She didn't have to look up to know who it was. A timid clearing of a throat caused all three occupants of the table to look up.

Mary Margaret shifted uncomfortably. "Good evening Mayor Mills, Henry, Emma." Her eyes lingered on the blonde's for a few long seconds. "Emma, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment."

Emma felt as if her throat had gone dry. "I...I..." A reassuring hand covered her own underneath the table.

"Miss Blanchard, in case it has escaped your notice, Miss Swan is having dinner with her family. Which you are currently interrupting." Regina's tone was enough to imply how inappropriate this intrusion obviously was.

"It won't take long..." Mary Margaret trailed off, quickly losing her nerve under the disapproving glare of the mayor.

Emma decided to save the schoolteacher from Regina. "Sunday. We can have lunch, discuss things."

Regina finally turned back to her menu now that the matter had been resolved.

Mary Margaret frowned. "You're not free tomorrow or Saturday?"

Regina head whipped up with wide incredulous eyes. Who did this woman think she was? Not only was she interrupting their family dinner, but now she had the gall to push the blonde after how much the blonde had been hurt by the woman's actions the previous night. "I believe she said Sunday Miss Blanchard. Is there a problem with that?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "No, of course not. Sunday it is."

Emma bit her lip, feeling slightly guilty that the woman had gotten caught in Regina's crosshairs because of her reactions the previous night. "I'll text you."

Mary Margaret nodded and walked off to the counter, taking a seat on one of the empty stools.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"You don't have to meet with her on Sunday, darling. You know that, right? You don't owe Mary Margaret Blanchard anything." Regina wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist from behind, resting her chin on the blonde's shoulder as she stared at their reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Emma bent forward and spit the toothpaste out of her mouth, running her toothbrush under the stream of water to clean it off. She gargled and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. "I know. But I should. She didn't do anything wrong. I was barely there during the week and Ruby needed a place. It makes sense." She turned in the older woman's arms and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before pulling away and heading into the bedroom. "Besides, it's not like she planned for this to happen." Emma chuckled at the very thought.

Regina stared after her retreating girlfriend, once more feeling guilty for the small part she'd played in this charade. She may not have had a direct hand in Miss Blanchard's plans, but she had known it was going to happen, and she hadn't warned the blonde. She had been far too focused on her own desires to have Emma living in the house with her and Henry full time.

She walked to the door of the en suite and leaned against the frame, watching the blonde let her long golden hair out of its ponytail. "Emma?"

The younger woman stopped midway through running her fingers through her hair to work out the tangles, half turning her torso so she could regard the brunette. "Hmm?"

"You want to be here right? You didn't agree to live here just because it was your only option? Because you felt forced or something?"

Emma took in the barely disguised vulnerability in the brunette's eyes. This answer was important to her. It was important for their relationship. "I'm not sure I would have considered it on my own, but maybe what happened is for the best. I think maybe this is where I've belonged all along, and it just took what happened last night to make me realise that." She offered Regina an easy smile. "There's no place I'd rather be."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews?


	24. These Magic Moments

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: a final fluffy chapter before the truth comes out...

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 24: These Magic Moments**

The Princess stared around the great hall, decorated to the nines for the upcoming ball. It had taken forever to convince the Queen to agree to the festivities. The stoic older woman insisted she did not entertain such notions as formal niceties and the like. It wasn't her way. There was an Evil in her name for a reason after all.

Emma had just rolled her eyes at the brunette queen's complaints, crawling onto the woman's lap in the small space between her and the desk, kissing the corners of the woman's frown. Regina had struggled not to give in and smile, but she quickly lost the internal struggle, the edges of her full lips turning up. It was that moment that the Princess knew she had won. She would get her ball.

The normally charcoal gray stones of the main hall were softened by rolling tapestries of midnight blue and ivory silk. Flowers hung from vines high overhead, suspended in midair by a spell of Regina's design that also held glittering orbs of light. It was beautiful, understated in its beauty. It wasn't the all out production her mother would have orchestrated to be sure, but for Regina it was leaps and bounds above what she usually did. It was Emma's influence on the dark woman and that was exactly what she needed to project; that she was having a positive effect on the royal they thought so little of.

"Is it everything you imagined it would be my love?"

The voice was smooth, like velvet as it slid into her ear, making her shiver. All these years and still the woman held such power over her. She smiled softly. "It's better than I imagined, truly beautiful My Queen. You have brought me such happiness."

Regina smiled at the younger woman's words, wrapping long arms around the waist of the White Princess. It still amazed her that of all the creatures in this realm which she could maintain a fondness for, it had been the progeny of her greatest rival that had caught her eye. She nuzzled the fine hairs at the back of the blonde's neck that had escaped from her braided bun.

Emma let her eyes flutter closed.

"This is all for you Princess."

Emma shook her head. "No, it is for us. For them to see that you are not the role they've cast you in, to see what I've known since I was but a child." She turned in the older woman's embrace. "After the ball they will see that Evil Queen is your title, it is not who you are." She looked into swirling brown depths before leaning in to place a small string of kisses along the brunette's jaw.

Regina smiled at the blonde fondly before bringing a hand up to affectionately stroke her fingers down the younger woman's cheek. Her dark fingernails were in stark contrast with the fairness of the blonde's skin. The girl took after her mother in her pale complexion. Emma was the White Princess, and she the Dark Queen. Two forces at direct opposition to each other and yet, they had found solace in each other's embrace. "You have such faith in me." The side of her mouth lifted as she stared into the green irises of the young Princess. "I am quite sure I will never understand what it is you see that everyone else doesn't."

"I see **you**." The Princess pressed a soft kiss to the older woman's lips. "I see the girl who rescued me when I fell through the ice as a child. The feud that has raged through our families for generations, you ended it with that one good deed."

Regina downcast her eyes. "Your mother would have everyone believe that I am responsible for that day."

Emma put a finger under the woman's chin and lifted it until their eyes met once more. "But I know the truth. I think for myself; my mother's grievances are not mine. We will _end_ this. This ball is the first step."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma felt her eyelid pressed up by a little finger and she was looking up into the small face of Henry Mills. "I think she's dead Momma." He let her eyelid drop, looking up to his mother who was sitting up in bed, reclining back against the ivory fabric of her headboard.

Regina glanced down at the blonde. Last night's dinner had been taxing on the blonde. She'd faced more emotional upheaval in the last few days then she had in years and it was manifesting itself in physical exhaustion. "Well, if she's dead anyway, then I see no harm in tickling her." She shrugged.

Henry's eyes lit up as if tickling his (supposedly) dead nanny was a fantastic idea. He grinned and climbed onto the blonde's hips, burying his little fingers into her sides and wiggling them.

Emma wanted to laugh, only because she wasn't ticklish in the least. He could go at it all day if he wanted to and it wouldn't even make her giggle.

Henry kept at it for a solid three minutes before his focus tapered off. "Momma, maybe Emma _is_ dead." He looked slightly dismayed by that fact.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe she's just under some sort of sleeping spell. What wakes up someone from a deep sleep in your fairytales?"

Henry grinned. "True Love's Kiss!"

Regina shrugged. "It's worth a try, I suppose."

Emma felt her lips tingle in anticipation. Would Regina really kiss her?

Regina saw the faint twitch in the blonde's lips and had to bite back her smirk. So Emma was already awake? Well that changed her plans. Insecurity crept into her head. Henry was still young, he still believed in fairytales. Would Emma deny her in front of him?

"Kiss her Momma!"

Regina offered her child a smile before she leaned down slowly, pressing her lips against the blonde's softly, praying that Emma would open her eyes. She held her breath as she pulled away, looking down at the blonde's peaceful face.

Emma's eyes fluttered open, green meeting brown for a long drawn out moment.

Henry grinned, clapping his hands together happily. "See Momma! True Love's Kiss always works!"

Emma was the one to respond, her gaze shifting to the little boy. "Indeed it does. Why don't you go downstairs and I'll be down in just a second to make us all breakfast okay?"

Henry bounced to the edge of the bed and then off onto the ground, padding off and out the open door.

Regina still hadn't moved, her face still inches from the blonde's, hovering over her, afraid to move. "Does this mean you're my true love, Miss Swan?"

Emma was unreadable. "I don't know, does it?"

Regina had somehow always known that, where Emma Swan was concerned, she would have to lead the charge and just hope that the blonde followed. Emma was far too fragile, far too guarded to ever put herself out there first. "I want you to be."

Emma felt the burning at the back of her eyes that signified tears were on their way. "What do you see in me?" She didn't get it. How could Regina look at her and see anything else beyond the broken street rat that everyone else saw?

Regina's gaze flashed briefly down to the blonde's lips as she traced them delicately with a finger, before they lifted once again to meet her eyes. "I look at you and I see my missing piece."

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears back but they began to fall anyway, sliding traitorously from her closed eyes and trailing down the sides of her face to pool in the cavity of her ears. Still she couldn't open her eyes. This was all some fantastic dream; it had to be. Fairytales didn't happen, not to people like her.

Regina pressed a soft kiss to each of the blonde's closed eyelids. "Emma... look at me."

Slowly, the blonde opened her eyes, her vision blurred from the presence of tears, Regina's face indistinct and hazy as she stared down into the younger woman's face affectionately.

"I consider myself a practical woman Miss Swan; it has gotten me quite far in life. I don't allow myself to believe in frivolous ideas like true love and fate. And then **you** happened." She smiled, tears forming at the corners of her own eyes. "You told me that your job brought you in that first day, and I believe it did, but it wasn't what brought you back. It wasn't what made you get me that gift, it wasn't what made you drop everything and rush to the hospital for a stranger, and it most certainly wasn't what brought you to Storybrooke. I have to believe there's something greater at work here, some force that draws us together. How can I not when you came and you changed everything?" She smiled. "I believe in fairytales again."

Emma sat up abruptly, pulling Regina into a tight embrace. She didn't know what else to do. Love... there was no denying she felt that. But fate? Fairytales? Those were the fancies of children and people who were still innocent of the way a life can be destroyed over and over again. Emma Swan had lost her innocence a long time ago.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma rapped her knuckles against the door frame of the open office door, biting her lip as she looked in at her boss, engrossed in whatever papers he was looking over at his desk.

Graham looked up at the blonde in his doorway with a raised eyebrow. Emma had proven to be pretty low maintenance as a deputy, rarely asking him for anything. "Something wrong?"

"Re... Mayor Mills. Um, what was she like before... well, before **me**?"

He released a long breath and reclined back in his chair, surprised by the question.

Emma pushed away from the door and flopped into the chair at the other side of his desk. "Mary Margaret, Katherine, and Ruby keep telling me that she's changed since I came to town." She looked down at her hands, wringing them in her lap before her gaze traveled back up to her boss. She knew he would be straight with her, whereas all three of the aforementioned women may just be telling her what they assumed she wanted to hear. "Is that true?"

Graham ran the fingers of one hand over the stubble on his face thoughtfully, as he leaned back in the chair. "Regina Mills..." He paused for a short second as if he expected her to hear him utter her name instead of her title before continuing. "She has always been a complicated woman. This is a small town Emma. I know your experience is mostly in the big city, but life runs on a different speed here."

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. She hadn't come in here to receive a lecture on small town versus big city. The few short weeks she'd been a resident in Storybrooke had already highlighted the drastic differences between the life she was used to living and the one which she currently led.

He seemed to pick up on the exasperated shift in her mood and he held up a hand. "All I'm trying to say is that everyone knows everyone. I'm sure a few of us have secrets that even the nosiest of neighbours don't know, but most things, they're known by _everyone_, whether you want them to be or not. Things don't stay under wraps here for long. Gossip is the small town's entertainment." He sighed. "Unfortunately that means that for all of us who've lived most of our lives here, like Mayor Mills, people know each of our histories, everything about us. They form their opinions and once they do, that becomes a hard thing to change. Pretty soon, you become what everyone thinks you to be."

Emma tilted her head, suddenly interested. "Is that what happened to Regina?" She realised she knew nothing at all about the brunette prior to Henry being in her life. In her own way, Regina was just as closed off about her past as Emma was. What horror stories was the brunette trying to bury?

Graham frowned. "A long time ago, Mayor Mills lost someone important to her. Some people here in town would claim she was cold and calculating long before that, but I think that losing the last person she loved, I think that's what truly closed her off. Even when Henry came into her life, she was still the ice queen with everyone else. It wasn't until she found you that things started to thaw. She's happy again. I can't remember when I last saw her genuinely happy." The edge of his mouth tilted upward and his eyes focused back on Emma. He shrugged sheepishly. "I suppose the short answer to your question would have been yes, what they told you is true."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at the grocery list Regina had left for her. Henry sat in the front seat of the cart, merrily kicking his legs back and forth from where they dangled out of the two square leg holes. His face had lit up when she came home and suggested they do the shopping together. Katherine had insisted it was no problem for her to stay longer if Emma wanted to go it alone, but the younger blonde had waved the woman's concern off. Henry really deserved to get outside more than he did.

"Let's see." She scanned the list. "Let's just start with aisle one and do this one aisle at a time." The locally owned market was smaller than a large chain grocer, but she had spent her life shopping at corner markets and bodegas for all her necessities. She was fairly certain she could handle shopping here.

"Emma!" She turned to see a red and brown blur hurtling towards her and then Ruby was standing beside the cart, a huge grin on her face as she pulled the blonde in for a quick hug. She ruffled Henry's hair. "Hey little dude."

Henry grinned. "Hi Ruby."

Emma offered her own brief smile. "Hey Rubes." She glanced around, trying not to be obvious as she searched for any members of the usual entourage that accompanied Ruby everywhere.

Ruby caught the look and gave the blonde's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Just me today."

Emma sighed with relief. Cornered in the market was not her idea of a fun afternoon. "You stocking up the flat?" Things had been looking pretty sparse when she had still been a tenant.

"The flat?" Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion. Then she seemed to realise what Emma was saying as her eyes went wide. "Oh, the flat, yea. We're pretty low on supplies."

Emma was a little thrown off by the young brunette's reaction but she decided not to read too much into it. "Yea, the house is getting pretty empty too." She started up the aisle, Ruby following in step beside their cart.

"So, you and the mayor huh?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

Emma nodded, her gaze flashing to Henry but he was staring longingly at the box of Fruit Loops just out of his reach. "Yep, me and the mayor."

Ruby nodded with a smile. "It's about time someone besides this little guy was able to put a smile on her face." She eyed the list in the blonde's hand. "I see she's domesticated you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Last time I checked I wasn't a dog." She grabbed a box of instant oatmeal. "Besides, I'm shopping for myself just as much as her. I eat there too now, you know."

Ruby held her hands up placatingly. "Hey, down girl. I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's kinda nice to think you may stick around for a while." She dropped her hands with another grin. "Besides, it's about time the mayor got some."

"Got some what?"

Both women regarded the curious face of the little boy in the cart, his attention off the cereal and on them.

Emma looked down at her list, her neck starting to colour. "Potatoes. What do you say we get on that?" She pushed the cart down the aisle, waving over her shoulder to the younger brunette. "Bye Rubes."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared between the box marked _photos_ and the box containing her Christmas present from Regina. This was a big step for her. She hadn't lied when she told Regina she had always dreamt of having her pictures in fancy photo albums. But she'd never actually considered that it would happen. She'd wanted to be a dinosaur at one point in her life too and she knew she wasn't about to sprout scales and go all Godzilla on the citizens of Storybrooke. It had been a silly fantasy. But now it could be reality.

She sat on the bed, crossing her legs as she dragged the smaller box to herself and pulled out one of the leather photo albums. She ran a hand over the cover, smiling to herself. As much as everyone claimed that Regina was somehow magically changed by her presence, Emma had to admit that it went both ways. She wouldn't be taking this step if it wasn't for the brunette. Commitment of any kind had never been her thing. Until now. She took a deep breath as she set it on her lap and pulled the photo box closer.

It had been a long time since she had taken a walk down memory lane. Her past was not something she looked back on with any great amount of fondness. Some of these pictures were of the greatest times and experiences of her life. Others were of times she'd rather forget. But she'd kept them all, because without them, who else was going to remember the life and times of an orphan named Emma Swan? Beyond her own memory, they were all she had to commemorate her life. There was something about that she couldn't bring herself to part with. So she'd kept them all, the good and the bad.

She opened the top of the box. Most of the photos were scattered in a mound inside. One box, undecorated and unmarked was tucked in one corner. She pulled it out and set it on the bedside table. That was **his** box and she wasn't ready to see his face again. Her scar seemed to burn in punishment but she forced herself to ignore it and focus on the mound of photographs and sorting them into some form of organised chaos.

The sun inched its way up and over its peak in the sky and began its descent towards dusk as she sorted the photos and slipped them into their slots. She had very few photographs of her as a child, not many more of her as she grew and was able to take them herself. She didn't truly start to document her life until the days when he came into her life, the last time her life had spun on its axis. Until now.

A little head peeked around the door of the guest bedroom, staring in curiously at the blonde buried under a mountain of scattered photographs on her lap, an open album beside her.

Emma caught sight of Henry in the doorway and smiled, waving him in. His hair was sticking up in several places from sleep and his eyes were still half-closed. "Have a good nap buddy?"

He nodded, still staring silently curious at what she was doing, his little head stretching up on his neck as he craned it to see what she was up to.

She smiled and patted an empty spot on the duvet beside her. "Think you can give me a hand here little man?"

He nodded and rushed over, pushing himself up onto the bed after a deep breath and a pause to collect himself for the effort. He plopped down on the space and crossed his legs like hers. "What are these?"

Emma looked around at the scattered mess. "These are my memories." She plucked a photo from off to the left and handed it to him. "See that little girl right there?" She tapped the single focus of the photo, a young girl in green overalls with Winnie the Pooh on the chest pocket, her silky blonde hair pulled up into pigtails. She was giving the camera a toothy grin, her small hand raised in a wave.

Henry nodded. "Who is she?"

Emma gave the photo one more tap. "That was me when I was your age."

"That is _you_?" Henry seemed incredulous, as if it were impossible that she had ever been that young.

"Yep." Emma nodded. "That was me once upon a time."

Henry grabbed another photo. "Who's this?"

Emma took the photo from him and examined it. The two smiling faces in the photograph staring back at her seemed all at once foreign and completely familiar. One was her own, younger by over half a decade. Her hair was pulled back into a blonde ponytail as it so often was in those days, wearing her signature black rimmed glasses. They weren't prescription, just something she'd snagged for a buck fifty at Goodwill that she thought might make people take her more seriously. To this day she was still convinced that those spectacles had won over many a job interview. Those were hard, but in many ways simpler times. It was the face pressed cheek to cheek against hers that Henry was asking after.

It had been over five years since she'd let herself look at his face. Ragged and dirty, he'd always looked like a kid born and bred on the streets. It was what had first attracted her to him. She had known he was someone who could teach her how to survive out there on her own. She had expected him to be a mentor; she had never expected that they would become more. "That, um... he's an old friend."

Henry tilted his head and regarded the blonde's sad eyes. She was focused solely on the photograph, staring down at the man he didn't know. "Why does he make you sad? Was he a bad guy?" He didn't look like a bad guy to him, but anyone who made Emma sad had to be bad, right?

Emma finally tore her eyes away from the photograph and managed a smile for the little boy at her side. "No, not bad. He just told a lie once." A big one. One that shattered an already broken heart. But, as she stared down at the photos already arranged in the open album beside her, she realised that maybe the damage wasn't as irreparable as she once thought. Just maybe, Regina could fix what he broke.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A half hour. Regina stared at the clock. Just thirty more minutes and she'd be able to call it a day. The weekend stretched out before her with the promise of her trip with Emma to Boston and their second date. She hadn't had time to consider what it was the blonde had in store for her, but she didn't much care, as long as they were together. Maybe she could even convince Katherine to keep Henry overnight. He would love spending time with David Nolan and she would love alone time with the blonde. One thing or another had seemed to get in their way all week, keeping them from physical intimacy, but she was determined to make good on her promise of payback this weekend.

She looked up at a knock on the door as her secretary came in. The woman had been dismissed almost fifteen minutes prior, her winter coat on and her purse draped over a shoulder were evidence that she had fully intended to be gone. "Sorry Mayor Mills, last minute delivery for you." The woman gestured to the single long stem red rose and white envelope in her free hand with a tilt of her head. "This just arrived."

Regina accepted the flower with a word of thanks, her brow furrowed in confusion. Flower deliveries were something she was used to sending, but hardly had she ever received one and never on a day of no significance. As soon as her secretary had left, she plucked the card from the stem, opening the little white envelope and pulling out the card. It was not in Mr. French's usual boxy hand, but in a flowing script she recognised easily. A smile lit up her face as she read the two words on the card. _Look Outside_.

Slowly she stood, going to the window. The world below was blanketed in white, small snowflakes drifting down from the sky like lazy white rain drops. And standing amongst the fresh snow that blanketed the grounds of City Hall, was Miss Swan.

The blonde stood in her winter coat, the hat, gloves and scarf that Regina had gotten her for Christmas protecting her from the sharp bite of the air. Her breath was visible in little puffs before her pale lips. In her hand was the remaining bouquet of red roses.

Regina flipped open the latch and lifted the window, leaning out of the opening. "Miss Swan?"

Emma grinned, waving.

Regina couldn't help the small chuckle at the sight of the blonde looking like a lovestruck teenager, shaking her head softly.

Out of the darkness came. "Tell her she's pretty. Girls always like that."

Emma glanced over her shoulder to a tree. "I got this kid." She looked back up at the brunette.

Regina covered her mouth with one hand to hide her giggle. Well at least that answered where Henry was. "It's freezing out here. Come inside." She saw Henry's head, covered down past his ears by his knit cap, peeking from around the tree. "Both of you."

Emma shook her head. "Come outside."

Something about the tone of the blonde's voice, laced with a hint of anticipation, kept her from objecting. She nodded. "I'll be right down." She pulled back in and closed the window. There was only fifteen minutes until the end of her day now, might as well turn in early. Fifteen minutes wouldn't do any harm. She slipped on her coat and gloves. Tucking the envelope and card into her purse, she shouldered it before grabbing the red rose. She brought the flower to her nose, inhaling its fragrance before she turned off the light and locked up her office door.

Her anticipation grew with every stair down to the ground floor. She was the last to leave for the night, as usual, and the building was dark. The janitorial staff wouldn't be in until late night and they had their own set of keys, so she locked each of the doors before picking her way delicately across the grounds towards where the blonde stood, waiting for her as the snow drifted softly down around her.

She stared at the blonde as she approached, unable to stop the corner of her lips from tilting upward. "So Miss Swan, you have managed to lure me outside. Now do you care to tell me the meaning of all this?"

Emma didn't say anything, merely held out the other eleven roses, identical to the one already clutched in her hand, wrapped beautifully. Among them, held in place by a plastic holder was another card, this one without an envelope.

Regina took the bouquet and held it closer so she could read the writing on the card. This one had three words. _I love you_.

The brunette's head shot up, looking at the blonde in a mixture of shock and questioning disbelief.

Emma smiled and gave a soft nod. "I love you."

"You still haven't told her she looks pretty!" Henry's stage whisper came from where he was still hiding behind the tree.

Emma rolled her eyes. "And you look very beautiful tonight."

Regina felt tears sting her eyes even as she released a breathy laugh. She looked down at the flowers in her hands and then slowly back up into green eyes.

Emma shifted uneasily now that she didn't have her floral armour to protect her anymore. Her confession was out there. There was no taking those words back now that they'd been expressed, the thought of that both freeing and terrifying at the same time. "I just wanted to come over and tell you, the roses and the big production were Cyrano's idea over there." She jammed a thumb over her shoulder in Henry's general direction. She kicked at the hard crust of the snow with the toe of her boot as her eyes suddenly found the ground fascinating.

Regina could barely contain herself. The surge of warmth that had snaked out from her stomach to the rest of her body was urging her to tackle the woman in front of her and kiss her senseless. But they were still in public and Henry was only ten feet away. She had to keep herself contained for now.

She realised then that she still had yet to say anything. She smiled down at the flowers before stepping forward and catching the blonde's chin, lifting it and forcing her to raise her eyes.

The blonde was worrying her top lip between her teeth, looking achingly vulnerable.

Regina gave the young woman her brightest smile. "What took you so long?"

Emma chuckled, relief causing her to release her lip and offer a sheepish smile. She shrugged, opening her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance.

Regina wrapped her free arm around the blonde's neck and drew her in for a searing kiss.

"**YES**!"

They broke apart laughing at Henry's exclamation as the five year old continued to bounce around happily in the fresh snow.

Regina nuzzled Emma's cheek, pressing feather light kisses to her jaw. "Let's go home darling."

Emma nodded. She glanced up at the snow falling down on them from the black sky and considered that maybe magic might actually exist after all. If there was one thing this moment was, it was magical.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: next chapter: Boston, our ladies have their second date and some secrets come to light. drama will ensue. reviews?


	25. You Are Who You're Meant To Be

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: so I know I said this was going to be the date and the first of many revelations of the truth, but the chapter was too long and had to be split into two chapters. sorry about that, but I hope this is still a satisfactory chapter anyway. still firmly in the fluff.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 25: You Are Who You're Meant To Be**

Henry had been a ball of energy from the moment they'd gotten in the Mercedes, bouncing around in the backseat and talking animatedly about how he'd been helping Emma put her pictures into her photo albums one moment and then they'd been talking about flowers the next. Regina tried her best to keep one ear trained on the chatterbox in the back seat, while her eyes drifted every few seconds from the road to her rearview mirror, keeping a watchful eye on the bright yellow deathtrap on wheels that the blonde claimed was a suitable vehicle. They would need to have a serious discussion about the younger woman's chosen mode of transportation sometime in the not-too-distant future. She didn't want to worry about Emma or Henry's safety riding around in that tin can.

She blew out a sigh of relief as she pulled into the garage and the yellow bug pulled up to the curb out front. Regina grabbed her purse and the bouquet from the front seat as Henry clambered out of the back. She grabbed one of his mitten covered hands with her free one, hitting the button on the wall that would lower the garage door behind them with her elbow. They rushed out under the garage door just as it gave a small groan and began its steady descent.

Emma walked up the front path as they walked down the side, both parties meeting where the paths met before the stoop. The blonde scooped Henry up into her arms, blowing a raspberry against his cheek. He swiped at his cheek, making a disgusted face that wasn't the least bit convincing.

Regina grinned at the two before turning and stepping up onto the stoop, digging around in her purse for the keys. She pulled them out and unlocked the front door, pushing it open and stepping inside to get out of the snowfall. The air was starting to take on a bitter bite and she was feeling it in her bones.

Emma carried Henry in, setting him down just in the foyer. She began to unwrap him from underneath the several layers she'd insisted he wear as a condition of going with her to pull a Romeo with his mother. She handed his winter gear, piece by piece, to Regina and she hung them up. Once freed from all the layers, he bolted off up to the elevated part of the foyer and disappeared into the kitchen corridor. Emma smiled after him before slowly beginning to unbutton her own coat. Soft hands covered her gloved ones and she looked up into affectionate brown eyes.

"Allow me, Miss Swan." She continued where the blonde had left off, pulling apart buttons with precision skill. "What you did tonight..." She trailed off. Very few times in her life had Regina Mills found herself speechless. She parted the last button.

Emma shrugged out of the coat, her neck warming with the beginnings of a blush. She stepped past the brunette to hang up her coat, trying to hide the pink flush to her skin from the older woman.

Regina ran her fingers over the red roses where she'd rested them on the foyer table, smiling at the velvety softness of the flower petals. "It was amazing." She glanced back to find the blonde watching her. "You are amazing."

Emma smiled, the blush colouring its way up to her cheeks. She pulled the gloves from her hands as an excuse to avoid eye contact. She wasn't used to such attention and certainly not affection. It was still unsettling and foreign to have someone look at her with pure fondness. She didn't know how to process it yet.

"Emma! Dinner is done!" Henry peeked out of the kitchen corridor.

Regina picked up the flowers. "I should put these in water."

Emma breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "I'll set the table." She shut the closet door and walked towards the little boy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina set the vase on the bedside table, adjusting the flowers in the crystal once more as she smiled at them fondly.

Emma slid her hand up the length of the woman's spine.

Regina shivered and turned, smiling at the blonde. She placed her arms delicately around the younger woman's waist. "Is Henry asleep?" Her smirk said she already knew the answer as she placed an open mouthed kiss to the hollow of the blonde's throat.

Emma nodded. "All that jumping around and excitement finally tuckered him out."

Regina smirked against the pale flesh. "I hope_ you_ aren't tired." She bit roughly at the blonde's pulse point, pleased when it elicited a low moan from the younger woman.

Emma was quickly losing her grasp on coherent thought, a process sped up by the mayor's hands starting to wander. "I... We have to be up early and I should get a... shower." She surrendered to the hand hungrily guiding her mouth to the brunette's, bracing herself against the assault of the older woman's lips.

Regina took the blonde's bottom lip beneath her teeth, biting down and pulling before releasing it. She stared into green eyes with irises so dark they'd almost gone black. "We'll make time in the morning Miss Swan... unless, of course, you'd like me to fuck you in the shower, in which case, we could kill two birds with one stone."

Emma's eyes had fallen to Regina's lips, locked there as she watched the word _fuck_ roll between them. There was something hypnotising about that word falling from the full lips of the older woman; she was entranced.

Regina, having already made up her mind, dragged them towards the en suite bathroom. She only released the blonde once she'd pulled her inside and insinuated herself between Emma and the only means of escape. She began to unbutton her blouse, watching the young woman's every reaction.

Emma unconsciously licked her lips. Heat pulsed between her legs, discontent at being ignored as Regina pulled off her blouse and tossed it on the vanity, reaching around behind herself for the clasp of her bra. Suddenly remembering herself, she turned and reached into the shower, turning the shower head on and adjusting the temperature before turning back to the brunette. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the brunette standing completely naked between her and the door, something primal in the way her eyes glinted with the fluorescent light overhead.

"Lose the clothes Miss Swan. I don't trust myself to refrain from ripping them undressing you myself."

Emma pulled her long sleeve shirt over her head and tossed it aside, unzipping her jeans and working them down her legs. She kicked them away as they pooled at her feet. Her bra and underwear soon followed until she was just as devoid of clothes as the mayor.

The bathroom was blanketed with a sheen of steam from the hot water, Regina's skin glistening with it as she sauntered closer.

Emma backed up slowly, taking one step back for every step forward of the brunette, jumping slightly when the warm spray of water hit her.

Regina used the hesitation to her advantage, stepping into the enclosed space and pressing close as she pulled the glass door closed behind her, sealing them in the shower cubicle. Emma had stepped away from the spray and she slid under it, letting it rain down over her body, running her hands through her shorter hair and slicking it back.

Emma watched, entranced by the rivers of water as they cascaded down the woman's neck, over her chest, some continuing down the valley between her breasts, others rolling in a path over each mound and then falling over the cliff of a nipple in a waterfall that spilled down to the tile beneath their feet. She reached out, for a brief moment cupping her hands under the stream from each peak, catching the water as it fell before dropping the accumulated handful in favour of running hands over the flesh itself.

Regina smiled, her eyes falling closed. It felt like she'd been away from the blonde's touch much longer than the mere week that had passed since they'd last been together intimately.

Emma pressed in close under the stream of water, her mouth seeking and finding the brunette's, drawing her into a deep kiss that had both of them weak in the knees.

Regina surged forward, grabbing the blonde's upper arms and turning her, pressing her back against the wall and pressing so heavily against her that it felt as if their bodies were trying to become one. Her hands slid down the blonde's arms, coasting over her skin until she gripped her wrist and brought each arm above her head, pinning them against the tile. She held them there for a long moment as they kissed aggressively and then slowly, she released each wrist, her fingertips continuing to slide up over the blonde's palms until they found the spaces between her fingers, slipping into them as if that were where they'd always belonged.

Emma locked her fingers around the woman's hands, clasping them tightly as if they were her lifeline, the only thing keeping her from drifting away. Their breasts gliding against each other was driving her wild, fraying her senses until all she knew was need and hunger for Regina's body. She gained what leverage she could over the brunette and flipped their positions, pressing the brunette back against the tile. She released the woman's hands, her own trailing quickly down the older woman's slick skin. Her mouth followed her hands, trailing a path straight down Regina's torso as she fell down to her knees before her.

She looked up the woman's body, meeting brown eyes, struck by how right and familiar this position seemed. For a moment she almost felt once again the Princess kneeling before the Queen in her dreams. With a few quick blinks of her eye the feeling was gone and she brought her gaze down to the apex of the mayor's thighs, glistening with a wetness that had nothing to do with the shower.

She encouraged the mayor to drape her left leg over her shoulder and as Regina complied, she gave her a rewarding swipe of her tongue.

Regina's hand tangled itself in her wet locks, not guiding, merely maintaining a tangible connection, giving the older woman something to hold onto as the younger woman buried her face against her sex.

Emma's tongue moved between delicate folds of flesh with an old familiarity, as if she'd been doing this for years rather than a handful of times over the past few weeks. In their short time together she had made it a point to memorise every inch of the mayor. There wasn't a piece of her that she wanted to leave unmapped; she wanted to know her by heart. Everything she touched was committed to memory. She had learned the hard way that things can be taken from us without warning; time can never be guaranteed.

She ran the flat of her tongue over Regina's clit several times before pressing it against the bundle of nerves, applying pressure to the spot the mayor craved and needed it most. All Regina's little pants and whimpers were spurring her forward. She felt the woman's thighs beginning to tremble; she was close.

Emma entered her suddenly with two fingers at the same time that she sucked her clit into her mouth and Regina tumbled over the edge, coming gloriously undone around her.

Regina felt her legs become useless as stars danced behind her eyes. If not for Emma being there to hold her up, she knew she would have collapsed to the tile of the shower floor in a heap.

Emma removed her fingers so she could get a good grip on the woman's legs. As soon as she was certain that the brunette was stable enough, she stood, keeping her body pressed close just in case Regina had need of the support.

The brunette had most of her weight leveraged against the tile wall behind her, her brown eyes dazed, her chest heaving as her arms draped limply over the blonde's shoulders.

Green eyes studied brown as both women seemed lost somewhere in the comfortable silence that enveloped them. After a long moment, Emma leaned in and brought their lips together gently.

Regina's arms tightened their hold around her neck, keeping her close as she finally found her legs again and stood tall, pressing her body against the blonde's.

Emma stepped back, pulling them both underneath the spray. She parted from the brunette and turned the woman around, grabbing for the bottle of shampoo. She squirted some into her hand, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply as the fragrant concoction assaulted her senses. She lathered it in her palms until it was frothy and began to run her fingers through the brunette's hair, massaging the shampoo through dark locks. As soon as she was sure she hadn't left an inch unwashed, she pulled the woman directly under the spray, washing every last bit of shampoo out that she'd so carefully just spent minutes rubbing in. As soon as the last suds had spiraled down the drain, she placed a kiss to the newly clean hair.

Regina turned and wrapped her arms around Emma's waist, pulling her in close for a kiss. "I could get very used to this life Miss Swan."

Water was falling on their heads, dripping from the ends of hair strands, down the slopes of noses, collecting on eyelashes, and still the world seemed on pause around them. Emma knew she should be scared. That practical part of her brain, the part that catalogued every past mistake and kept her from making them again told her that she should be terrified. But her heart just couldn't seem to agree for once. It was telling her she was exactly where she needed to be. It was telling her that she didn't have to be afraid anymore; she'd found home. "So could I." She was still unsure of those words. Her stomach still dropped the tiniest bit at the idea of sacrificing any inch of freedom.

The smile that lit up Regina's face at her words... Emma knew instantly she would sacrifice any amount of freedom to always see that smile upon her face.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It was the day of the ball and Princess Emma had never been so nervous in her entire life. She'd played hostess many a time at the White castle. Her mother had always been fond of parties and Emma had learned from a young age how to mingle among the crowd, making everyone feel welcomed and assuring they had a good time. Though she'd always rolled her eyes at the process when she was a girl, preferring to be out practicing her archery in the practice fields than inside in a stuffy ball gown learning her stitches and other things proper royal women must know, she had managed to absorb most of what went into putting on such an event.

But this wasn't just _any_ ball. This was **the** ball. At the end of this night she was hoping to bring peace to the blood feud that had raged for between her family and Regina's for farther back than either of their lifetimes.

"You must hold still Your Grace; these ties are objecting more than they did a fortnight past." Faleen was comfortable enough with her now to admonish her gently as she pulled the lacings of her new gown tight.

Emma smiled at the girl's reflection in her mirror before taking a deep breath and straightening. She was in ivory tonight. It would please her parents sensibilities that she was still the pure innocent creature that they raised, but it was also a colour Regina had always loved her in. The brunette would joke with her, calling her the Swan Princess, teasing after her father's nickname for her. She needed to belong to both sides tonight, needed to be the balance between them if she wished to have peace. She was not on one side or the other, not tonight.

Faleen tied off the ends of the ribbon at the base of her spine. The girl, one year younger than her own fragile age, glanced over her shoulder at the reflection of the princess in the mirror. "You look beautiful Your Grace; all eyes will be on you tonight." She blushed and downcast her eyes. "Including Her Majesty's."

Emma beamed proudly. Her hair had been curled and left down, though it was pinned back from her face with a diamond pin that had been a gift from Regina for her fifth name day, the first after they'd met. Her tiara sat upon her head, glittering regally upon her golden locks, another gift, this one from her mother. "Yes, I believe she will be pleased." She smirked into the mirror. Knowing Regina, she'd been spying this whole time. As much as the older woman promised that she only spied on those who required such measures, Emma knew that her curiosity was something she couldn't help but indulge. She puckered her lips at the mirror, blowing a kiss to the woman she was sure was watching on the other side, before turning to her handmaid.

The girl was standing, hands clasped, waiting to be dismissed.

Emma smiled warmly. "Your duties for the night have concluded. In your chambers you will find that I have had a dress made for you. Wear it tonight. I want you to enjoy yourself."

The girl looked up with wide eyes. "But Your Grace, I am just a servant."

Emma shook her head. "Tonight, you are my guest. I have seen how you look at Pinocchio. Perhaps you will find him asking for a dance."

Faleen blushed, turning her face against her shoulder to hide it from the Princess. She thought she had done a good job of being discreet about her crush on the carpenter's boy. He was over five years her senior and ruggedly handsome.

"Princess, you are embarrassing the girl."

Emma smirked. She had figured Regina would not wait long to come to her. The older woman did so dislike having the Princess outside of her presence for very long. "I am merely telling her to enjoy herself. She has earned it." She put a hand on Faleen's arm, drawing the girl's attention. "And we all deserve a happy ending, with whomever our heart desires." She dismissed the girl with a nod of her head, waiting until she disappeared out the door before she regarded her other visitor's presence, though she didn't turn to look at the woman. "Impatient tonight, aren't we my love?"

Hands slid over her shoulders from behind, fingers sliding delicately along the gown's neckline until it reached the point of the modest V, caressing the bare hint of cleavage that the gown displayed. "You look divine."

Emma smiled. She could hear the awe that barely masked the desire in her tone. "I suspected you might approve." She turned and had to bite back a gasp. Regina was in a blue so deep she appeared to have ripped a piece from the sky at peak of night and robed herself in it. The gown was tight, the skirt branching out just a little to allow her movement, long sleeves extended down to where tan hands sprung from delicate wrists. Her hair was up and she too wore her crown. It glittered brightly upon the dark waves of her hair. "And you look..." She trailed off, exhaling in a rush as if her lungs had failed her.

"It seems we both have pleased the other." Regina's fingers slid down the bodice of the ivory silk gown, her nails dragging along the fabric. She watched their descent with dark eyes. "You know, with just a flick of my fingers, I could rid us of these troublesome fabrics. It would be so simple."

Emma smirked. "And how do you propose we make peace in the realm if we don't even attend our own ball?"

Regina smirked, her eyes still on her hand, now tangling in the fabric of the skirt, pulling her closer. "Our only common cause is you. The closer I am to you, the better, and right now, I desire to be _much_ closer." Regina leaned in towards her lips.

Emma felt herself surrendering, something inside her stomach fluttering. Her eyes fell closed.

A knock at the door to the chamber interrupted them, causing the brunette to look up with a dangerous growl. This had better be good or the Princess feared for whichever unfortunate soul happened to be on the other side of that door.

The door opened and a guard stepped in. "Your Grace, Your Majesty." He bowed.

"What?" Regina's impatience was barely contained.

"The first carriage has just arrived to the outer gates Your Majesty, several more on approach."

Emma smiled. "The guests are arriving. I'm afraid we must resume this... _discussion_ later." She kissed the corner of the older woman's lips, turned down in a scowl. She leaned in towards the woman's ear. "Play nice and tonight you may have me bound and at your mercy."

Regina's eyes went wide at the promise, her lips turning up at the prospect. She turned to the guard. "We mustn't keep our guests waiting." She grasped the Princess by the hand and led the way out of the chamber.

-/-

"This place looks beautiful."

Emma looked at the Queen who had stepped up beside her, gazing around in awe. Her mother was just as fair as always, her black hair done up high on her head, a messy beehive of curls to contrast with her pale skin. Her dancing green eyes offset the softness of her features and complimented the lavender of her full gown. With her sparkling crown atop her head she was every bit the White Queen. "Thank you mother, for your words as well as your presence."

Snow White smiled softly, though her gaze never left the crowd to look at her daughter. "Your father and I have missed your presence in our halls. Though I was reluctant to cross kingdom lines, especially here, my desire to see you outweighed my better judgment."

"You have nothing to fear here; that is the purpose of this whole evening." It had been a great success so far. Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves, even Regina was deterring from isolating herself, mingling with the crowd like a true royal. Though Emma did notice that the woman's brown eyes sought her green ones every few minutes, needing to know she was nearby and safe.

"I know what it is you wish to accomplish here, but our battle is an old one. The misplaced love of a young girl, even a Princess, does not change fate." Snow looked almost saddened by her own words. "I once held the same wish in my heart. Surely peace was due. The feud had been going on for so many generations that none of my forebears could even agree on the details. All the histories they passed down to me were just a little different, some small thing changed. Things get exaggerated, wounds are made out to be deeper than they truly are. I didn't want their war. So I tried, in my own way, to end it. I tried to make peace with Cora. She laughed in my face. She..." Snow swallowed down the emotion bubbling up. "It matters not what she did, but it changed my mind. I realised then that peace could only come when their line was extinguished. Regina is the last remaining. I have agreed to her terms for safety as long as she remains in her kingdom and does not raise her lands against us in an act of war. She can live until the end of her days in peace."

Emma felt tears sting her eyes. But, she had thought that...

"What you feel for this woman, it is idol worship, nothing more. You had your eyes turned up to her since you were a young child."

Emma wanted to object, wanted to insist that what she had with Regina was true love, something so pure it could conquer anything, just as her parents had with each other. She wanted to point out that they'd fought against all odds to be together and she and Regina would do the same. But the butterflies that had been fluttering lazily around her stomach from when she had been alone with Regina in her bed chamber had taken on a hard edge as if they were ramming against her insides, trying to break free.

"Your father and I have discussed it at great length and we will be taking you with us back to the White kingdom at the break of dawn tomorrow. We will give you this final night to say your goodbyes. If she attempts to keep you from leaving, it will be seen as kidnapping and an act of war against the White kingdom, rendering the treaty void. We will take appropriate action to see you safely home, where you belong."

Emma couldn't focus on her mother's words. Her eyes frantically sped around the room, searching desperately. Finally, she caught brown, a fixed point in a swimming sea of faces. She raised trembling fingers up towards the dark woman, calling to her without words, but her hand barely made it up off where it was resting against her skirts, to weak to move any further.

She saw purple gray smoke envelope the Queen just as her stomach gave a painful lurch. The room began to spin as her legs gave and she fell backwards, landing against something solid. She heard cries of surprise, but they seemed far away. The world had shrunken to a small bubble of space, everything outside its confines blurry and indistinct.

And then Regina's face was pressing close above her, but it was upside down. It took her a moment to realise that she was in the woman's lap, staring up at the brunette. Regina's mouth was moving, her eyes bright with fear and concern, but she couldn't hear her, nor could she manage to find her own voice to reassure her. Then her mother's face was leaning in from over Regina's shoulder. The woman glared at Snow White accusingly and then they were exchanging heated words. Emma gasped as another lurch of pain shot through her, causing both women to cease arguing and return to speaking at her, though she still couldn't hear them. For a moment the pain seemed to recede and she felt relief wash through her body. She gave the woman holding her a shaky smile, frowning when she saw tears in Regina's eyes. And then the pain came back so suddenly and sharply that bright light burst behind her eyes before everything started to fade to black. The alarmed face of Queen Regina was the last thing she saw before it disappeared completely.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma shot up in the dark room, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath and recover from the dream. Her head spun as it had in the grand hall full of people, nothing around her in the gloom coming into focus. She had a distinct desire to run, run long and far, try and outrun the bad dreams that she felt waiting for her behind closed eyelids, but she was too afraid to stand, sure she'd fall flat on the floor in the attempt. She wanted to close her eyes to stop the rooms spinning, but she feared what awaited her more than the twisting of her surroundings.

Arms encircled her, wrapping around her entire body arms and all and holding her tight. She didn't feel her body move but the next thing she knew she was being cradled in a lap, rocked back and forth as kisses were pressed against her hair. It was then that the roar in her ears calmed enough for her to hear someone talking to her.

"It's okay baby, you're alright. I've got you. You're safe now. You're fine. I've got you. I'm here. You're safe."

It took a moment but she let the reassurances sink into her and calm her. She buried her face against the silky fabric that covered the mayor's torso, but kept her eyes open.

Regina had one arm wrapped securely around the blonde, holding her close against her body. With her free one she cradled the woman's head as she rocked her. Emma's violent movement as she'd awoke from what must have been a nightmare had jarred the brunette from sleep as she'd been wrapped around the blonde. The younger woman had warned her that, like Henry, she suffered from her fair share of nightmares, unable to keep the demons away in the unguarded peacefulness of sleep. She pressed another kiss to the woman's temple as she felt her breathing start to slow to a normal rhythm. She slowed her rocking in response, letting Emma's actions guide hers.

It was another fifteen minutes before Emma calmed enough to pull up. She looked apologetically into the brunette's face. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Regina just shook her head, pushing wayward strands of golden hair out of the younger woman's face. She leaned in and kissed her forehead before resting her own against it and looking into apologetic green eyes. She wanted to ask, but she knew better than to push.

Emma stared into concerned brown eyes for several long moments before she stole a quick kiss and hugged the older woman hard, burying her face against her neck, breathing in her scent, a mixture of her shampoo, the leftover traces of her perfume, and her natural smell. It was like aromatherapy, lulling her into an even deeper sense of calm. Regina was here. Regina would protect her. It had all just been a bad dream. Yet a little part of her still expected to feel the acute stabs of pain in her abdomen.

Regina held her, her fingers running up and down the blonde's back through the thin cotton of her white tank top. "I'm here. You're safe. It was just a dream."

Emma held on as if her very life depended on it for a few more minutes, letting herself believe the woman who held her. Finally she pulled back with a sigh. She felt the urge to apologise again, but knew the gesture would be moot. There was no frustration in Regina's face at being woken up, only a flood of concern and unasked questions.

She wasn't ready to discuss these dreams she'd been having, that much she knew. She'd answer all Regina's questions eventually, but not tonight, not now. Their morning was going to start early and they'd already lost precious sleep as it was. She glanced back at her own side of the bed, the duvet a tangle. "Will you hold me until I fall back to sleep?"

Regina offered her a small smile and soft nod. "Of course darling." She helped the blonde lay back down, smoothing her hair as she rested her head on the pillow, before laying down facing her and pulling her in close. She placed a kiss on her forehead and then each eyelid. "I've got you. Just go back to sleep baby; I'm not going anywhere."

Emma smiled softly, breathing deeply. Feeling the mayor's presence so close calmed her and within a minute she found herself drifting off again. This time, her sleep was dreamless.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"It's Saturday!"

Emma groaned and turned her face into her pillow at the excited voice of a five year old with way too much energy for this early in the morning. She felt the bed dip somewhere behind her and then all of a sudden it lurched. She managed to get out another groan before it lurched again. Her eyes snapped open and she brought them up to squint through the morning glow to the little body hopping up and down on the bed.

When Henry saw she was awake, he grinned. "It's Saturday!"

"So you've said." She wiped at an eye with the back of a fist.

"Momma's making us breakfast." He stopped jumping, tucking his legs up and falling through the air in a sitting position to land with a bounce on his rear end. Both his little hands wrapped around hers and pulled. "Come watch cartoons with me Emma!"

She sighed, sitting up and waving him off. "Alright. Go turn them on. I'll be right there."

Henry jumped to the floor and raced out of the room.

She ran a hand over her face before throwing the duvet off and trudging to the bathroom. She turned on the water, splashing it up over her face before looking into the mirror. She looked like she'd barely slept at all and she felt like it too. With a sigh, she picked up her toothbrush. Better brush her teeth, compose herself and get to the family room before Henry decided to come find her and got a good look at her. Or worse, Regina. The last thing she needed was the brunette cancelling their excursion to Boston because she thought Emma couldn't handle it. The blonde needed this day trip. And she was more than a little excited about their second date. Regina had showed her a little of her world, high class and sophisticated, on their first date. She had been in her element. Now it was Emma's turn. Regina wanted to see her world? Well she planned to show her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Not even a little hint? Just a tiny one?" Regina pouted from the driver's seat as she pulled into a free parking space and threw the Mercedes into park. She jutted out her bottom lip just a little, her eyes big and round as she turned in her seat to regard the blonde in the passenger's seat.

Emma shook her head. "Nope. You made me wait on our first date; it's only fair." She shook her head again, ignoring the adorable pout.

Regina pursed her lips and crossed her arms, a stubborn look crossing her features. "Fine."

Emma grinned. "You look like Henry when you do that." She leaned across the space between them to steal a kiss.

Regina turned her lips away, but Emma just pressed the kiss to the brunette's cheek, undettered. She pulled back and opened her door, stepping out into the cold parking lot. She shut the door and rubbed her gloved hands together. She had dressed for their date later in her tightest pair of skinny jeans, which also happened to be her nicest pair, a form hugging black sweater and her red leather jacket that Gus had gotten her. She had put the wool coat on over it at Regina's insistance, the older woman insisting she'd catch a cold.

She heard the driver's door open and close and she glanced over her shoulder to see Regina regarding the hospital on the other side of the research center where the meetings were held. An apprehensive look crossed her face as she regarded the five story massive building. She had dressed in her own pair of skinny jeans at Emma's insistence, though she'd had to rip the tags off an unworn pair. She'd insisted on wearing a silk blouse and blazer, claiming it was a date and she needed to dress somewhat formally, despite Emma's objections that it wasn't necessary. She had claimed it was always necessary to look her best and Emma had dropped the subject.

The blonde walked around the car and put a hand on the blonde's forearm, distracting her from her thoughts and bringing brown eyes down to green. She offered the older woman a reassuring smile.

It took a moment but Regina finally returned it. She took a deep breath and held out a hand to the blonde. "Are you ready?"

Emma nodded, placing her hand in Regina's. "Let's do this."

Gaby was the only one in the small research classroom where their group met every month. She looked up when the door opened, smiling when she saw Regina. "Hey." Her eyes grew wide as she saw who the woman pulled in with her, grasping her firmly by the hand. "And Emma? Wow, what a surprise. I didn't expect to see you around. Cheryl will be so pleased. She was just emailing me about you the other day." She bustled over to them and gave them each a quick hug. "How's Henry doing?"

As Regina launched into a detailed and lengthy update on Henry's condition, mostly of medical terms Emma couldn't pronounce let alone define, she wandered over to the refreshment table, ignoring the putrid coffee for a glass of water.

She leaned back against the wall as she took some time to actually take in the room. It looked like a typical research classroom, medical posters on diabetes and osteoarthritis and other conditions were splashed here and there about the walls. One wall boasted a long table with computer terminals, all shut down when class wasn't in session. The wall at the front of the room had a white board, a long bar hanging from the roof above it where a projection screen could be pulled down. Rows of chairs lined the room and the blonde could just imagine that, when their little group wasn't in session, medical students from the hospital gathered in those very same seats to hear lectures from attendings and residents. Learning took place in this room. She hadn't been a student since before her child came into the world.

"You look thoughtful." Regina came up beside her.

Emma glanced over at the brunette before looking down into the glass of water she had yet to take a sip from. "I never finished school. I dropped out when I left the home; school was something I associated with being in the system and I wanted nothing to do with that. I got my GED a few years later, after I decided to clean my life up, but there are times I wonder who I'd be now... _what_ I'd be now if I had just stuck it out." She shrugged, staring at those rows of chairs though she wasn't really seeing them. "Would I be on my way to becoming a doctor or a lawyer? Would I be studying art abroad in Rome? Maybe I'd be getting my pilot's license or becoming the head of some company." She glanced at the brunette with another shrug. "I guess I'll never know what I could've been."

Regina took the blonde's water cup from her hand and set it down on the refreshment table. She stepped up to the blonde, grabbing the younger woman's arms and wrapping them around her waist before she wrapped her own arms around Emma's neck. "I don't know what you would have been, but I for one, think what you became is more amazing than whatever that would have been. You are the master of Go Fish, the watcher of Saturday morning cartoons, the teller of bedtime stories, the orchestrator of snowball fights. You bring New York to Maine, contruct houses for snowmen, and throw dance parties in the middle of the afternoon. You help a sick little boy feel normal every single day." Tears gathered at the corners of the brunette's eyes but didn't fall. "You mean the world to a little boy, and to me. So, I'm not sure what you would have been, but I am sure that what you are is pretty magical."

Emma tightened her grip on the brunette's waist, staring into the woman's eyes. How did she always know the exact right things to say? How was she so perfect? Was this what it meant to find your soulmate? Emma couldn't help feeling like she'd discovered the rarest treasure completely by accident and now her life was richer than she'd ever be able to understand. It occurred to her that maybe the answer was to stop trying. "I love you."

That earned her another one of her favourite smiles and she knew in that moment that Regina was wondering how she knew the exact right thing to say too.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina looked around the neighbourhood they were driving through. There were less savoury places in Boston to be sure, but this particular section wasn't exactly known for its hospitable citizens. A sleek black Mercedes was a rolling target. She could only hope they were just passing through. But Emma had her make one more right turn and then pull over in front of a building that looked to be falling apart. The old brick six story's upper levels had its windows either boarded up or broken out. The fire scape was rusted with disuse. The brick itself was crumbling in some places. The building next door was just as dilapidated, but it had a trio of men sitting on the front steps.

All three were not people she'd associate with in life. One was in a hole covered wife beater visible through a half unzipped sports jacket and sweats. His blonde hair was thick, tattoos visible on his beefy neck. The second was thinner, but just as mean looking. He was pale with a shock of red hair underneath his pageboy cap. The third had his back to Regina, a hoodie up concealing any features, but she could tell he was shorter and leaner than the other two.

Regina was about to object to whatever it was they were doing here when, to her horror, Emma slipped out of the car, closing the door.

She looked towards the trio. "So, three Irishmen walk into a bar..."

Regina's eyes grew wide in alarm. Was Emma crazy? She didn't consider herself the least bit religious but she felt a sudden need to cross herself and pray.

But to her surprise the trio looked up... and smiled.

Emma grinned. She walked straight over and threw an arm around the blonde with the beefy neck, socking him playfully in the stomach. She hugged the pale redhead, but tensed when she looked at the guy in the hoodie, finally just giving an incline of her head in greeting.

Regina felt secure enough that Emma obviously knew these people and got out of the car.

Emma looked up at the sound of the Mercedes door closing and grinned, waving her over. She met the brunette halfway and gripped her hand, pulling her towards the group. "I'd like you to meet Damian." The blonde nodded. "Patrick." The redhead took off his cap and inclined his head. Emma paused. "And Breena."

Regina could see now that the figure in the hoodie was a girl, her long light brown hair hidden away, tucked into the hood. She didn't say anything in geeting, merely looked Regina up and down and the mayor got a decidedly hostile feeling from the woman.

"Guys, this is Regina." She beamed at the brunette and Regina instantly forgot the glare of the woman in the hood. Her eyes were only focused on the affectionate gaze of the blonde.

The blonde beefcake let out a wolf whistle. "Swan finally got herself a las. And a fair one at that. Never thought I'd see the day."

Emma rolled her eyes before gesturing towards the Mercedes with a tilt of her head.

Patrick nodded. "We'll keep watch."

Emma grasped Regina's hand and pulled her backward, leading her across the street.

The brunette hadn't noticed the squat brick building across the way with the dark green front door. There were windows but they were blacked out and there were no signs indicating the establishment wasn't just as abandoned as the other buildings. "What is this place?"

Emma smiled over her shoulder at the brunette. "You'll see. It's owned by the closest thing I've ever had to a family before Storybrooke, before you."

Regina had a feeling she wouldn't like this place, but she couldn't object to the bright glint in the blonde's eyes. She tossed one last look at her Mercedes before Emma threw the green door open and pulled her inside.


	26. And The Truth Came Out

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: sorry this took all week but it is the last week of work and I have been booked solid. although this has been done since Wednesday, there has been no way to post it. today however was the final day, though I will not get my laptop back until Wednesday morning. here is the moment some of you have been waiting for. by the end of this chapter one secret with have been revealed. I hope you enjoy and trust that I will get our ladies back on track soon, this is meant to be a fluffy story at heart and I never want to stray too far from that

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 26: And The Truth Came Out**

The smell of imported beer assaulted her senses as the heavy door thudded closed behind her, making her jump an imperceptible inch at the echoing noise, though there was no alcohol in sight. They emerged into a decent sized room with no real decorations of any kind, though there were holes in the wall where cords and pipes had once come through and empty hooks that once held art. The room was a perfect square, just big enough to be a small lobby or similar receiving area back in the day. An abandoned counter was near the door, two rooms opened off, one behind the counter to what appeared to be an office though there was no furniture inside with which to confirm her theory, the other was also behind the counter, a bathroom of sorts, the porcelain trappings inside long broken down from disuse. A freight elevator with a sign attached to the grate that clearly read **Out Of Order** took up most of the far wall, a staircase leading only upward to the higher floors took up what was left. Though they appeared to be, like the rest of the structure of the room, almost if not as old as the building itself, this was where Emma led her.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Where..."

"You'll see." Emma led her over to the elevator and opened the cage, ignoring the glaring sign of caution. She slowly lifted the metal door barring their way before she stepped inside and motioned for Regina to follow.

The brunette stepped reluctantly into the lift with her, wary of the small contained space. Still, something inside her said she could trust Emma and she resolved to do just that. Emma had no reason to hurt her and there wasn't even a small piece of herself that believed she wasn't safe with the blonde.

"This building was once a set of apartments back in the day. Then it became business offices." Emma closed the outer cage.

Regina looked around for a button to take them up, noticing a set of tracks overhead, but no buttons whatsoever. And she noticed that the metal door that Emma had just lifted wasn't there anymore. The metal wall that Regina had taken for the back of the lift was actually the door that Emma had lifted, moving along the arched track like a garage door to rest behind them. The blonde walked to the back and began to lift it, causing it to arch back overhead, following the tracks in an arch over their head until it settled behind her, looking as if the lift had flipped and the back wall was now behind her. A cage, identical to the one at the front of the elevator that they had just stepped through stood before them. So the elevator didn't move at all; it had a false back. No wonder it was marked **Out Of Order**. Anyone who stepped inside to go upstairs would get the surprise of their life.

Emma grinned over her shoulder at the brunette, her eyes glinting with a playfulness Regina had never seen in them before. She reached for the cage, lifting it. "Welcome to the best kept secret in Boston."

Before them was a bar, or rather a down home style pub. The small entryway in which they stood was decorated by a stained and well worn Irish flag, the corners yellowed and frayed with the passage of time, much like the rest of the place, though that was the only indication that the establishment might cater to only Irish clientele. Well at least that explained the smell of alcohol in the ruined lobby.

The main room that opened up from the small enclave appeared at first to just be a typical bar, but a second look proved that it was a piece of history. The walls were original to the building, brick in some places, old wood in others. Photographs and momentos of a life well lived painted a timeline of the establishment's history. A long bar extended the entire length of the far wall, bottles glittering behind it on shelves, beers and ales imported from oversees, as well as a counter of the harder drinks. She eyed a near full bottle of a scotch she had often found herself indulging glasses of in the days before Henry came into her life.

"What is this place?"

Emma grinned, her eyes staring around the establishment as if she were coming back to her childhood home. "It's Nick's place." She shrugged shyly at Regina. "It's like my Cheers." She laced her fingers through the brunette's and led her over to the bar. The blonde leaned over the top, looking first right and then left down the length of the long bar. No bartender was in sight. She glanced over her shoulder at Regina. "Pick your poison."

Regina shook her head. "Designated driver."

Emma rolled her eyes and reached into Regina's purse, her fingers easily finding the keys and drawing them out of the designer bag. She held them up, dangling them before the brunette's face. "Now I am. Pick your poison."

Regina bit the inside of her cheek, swallowing back another objection. This was Emma's date. She could play by the blonde's rules, for this one night at least. She gestured with her head towards the bottle of scotch.

Emma eyed it and grinned. "Sophisticated choice. I should have guessed."

Regina looked around for the bartender. The service here certainly was lacking. They had gotten nothing more than cursory glances from a few of the men on stools already lost in their cups for the evening and the bartender or any sort of management had yet to be seen. She was about to comment as much to the blonde when she felt Emma's hand slip from her own.

Emma turned her back to the bar as if she were going to lean back against it, bending her arms at the elbow and resting her palms flat on the wooden surface of the bar. She used her arms to lift herself up to sit on the bar, turning on her butt and bringing her legs over, slipping down to the floor on the other side. She went straight for the bottle of scotch.

Regina's eyes went wide. "Miss Swan! What are you _doing_?" Her voice was a low hiss. She didn't want to draw any attention to her girlfriend's blatant theft.

Emma scanned her eyes under the bar until she saw the shelf with the fresh tumblers. She pulled one out, set it on the bar before Regina and unstoppered the bottle, pouring some into the glass. "Getting you your drink." She said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey!"

Regina felt her stomach drop. The voice was most definitely male and it sounded angry. She glanced over to where a man was standing, staring directly at Emma, his eyes accusatory. Oh shit, how was she ever going to explain away the blonde's behaviour?

But after a long drawn out moment of a staring contest between the man with the light brown hair and the blonde on the wrong side of the bar, his angry expression broke into a grin. "If you're gonna be back there, get the boys another round yea?"

Emma gave the man a salute and slid down to the other end of the bar, getting drink orders and filling them with the familiarity of someone who'd done this before. She moved about this place as if she knew it.

Regina set her purse on the bar and slid out of her coat. The bar was well ventilated, but the dim lights and homy atmosphere deemed her trench coat unnecessary. She draped it across the bar over her purse and seated herself on the stool beside them. She rested her elbows on the bar and laid her cheek against her clasped hands, watching the easy grace with which Emma moved through this world.

Regina had never much considered herself a bar girl. Even before Henry rendered the activity of bar hopping impossible, she had never frequented the three establishments Storybrooke offered. Socalising on a non-business level had never been her strong suit and she had tended to avoid putting herself in situations that required such social prowess. But Emma, the blonde glided about as if it were a dance she had mastered long ago, moving between the bottles on the shelves and the bar, exchanging beer mugs for crinkled dollar bills, laughing at the flirtations of the men getting their drinks. There was something so graceful about her movements despite the graceless setting of the ruckus around them.

She had knocked back her scotch just as the crowd of men, as well as a few women here and there, had gotten their rounds. She held the empty glass in the air. "Hey, what's it take for a girl to get a refill?"

Emma's green eyes slid to her. She reached out, a pale hand wrapping around the neck of the scotch bottle without even looking at the shelf, carrying it with her back to the other side of the bar.

"You look very at home here." Regina watched the liquid as it fell from the bottle and into her glass.

Emma nodded, looking around the bar. "Nick's great grandfather used to run this place as a speakeasy back in the prohibition days. The tenants in the apartments would sneak down and get their fix by night. No one was the wiser. The whole building has passed through Nick's family generation to generation. Nick's father, Tommy, moved west but kept the property, the bar abandoned. It wasn't until Nick moved back to Boston that he decided to do anything with it. When I moved here, I sought him out. I spent most of my free nights and weekends parked at that table over there." She gestured to a small two seater table near the pair of mismatched billiard tables. One table was a dark teak with plum felt, expensive and old looking. The other was mahogany with navy felt, the wooden structure of it carved ornately. "I won many a rent check at those pool tables." She smiled fondly at the memory before her eyes shifted once again to meet the brunette's. "I don't have much of a past I can share beyond old photographs and small momentos, but this place is part of my history. I wanted to share that with you."

Regina was so touched by the gesture, the small letting down of another of Emma's walls, that she ignored all the other patrons of the bar, using her elbows as leverage to raise herself up off the stool enough to lean across the bar and capture the blonde's lips. Wolf whistles and cat calls echoed all around them but she didn't let it deter her from the task at hand, only serving to make her deepen the kiss, dipping her tongue teasingly into the blonde's mouth before immediately withdrawing.

"Alright, alright, no private shows in my bar, yea?" The man from earlier came striding over.

Emma grinned as she pulled back, raising her chin in a gesture of cockiness towards the brown haired male. "You're just jealous." She rolled her eyes. "Nick, Regina. Regina, Nick." She pointed between the mayor and the brown haired man with the smiling eyes. "He owns the place."

Regina swerved on her stool enough to offer a hand to Nick. "This is an... _interesting_ establishment you got here."

He shook it firmly. "Thanks. I could have knocked out the elevator and just expanded, but I wanted to stay true to the place. Who doesn't like a bit of mystery?"

Regina liked the guy's easy smile. He was good-looking, about five years Emma's senior, putting him at around her age. He had light brown wavy hair, a full head of it, with the scruffy look of the not-quite beard. His bright blue-green eyes drew you in. He had the barest hint of an accent. "Indeed."

He glanced from Regina to the blonde who was watching them both intently. "Griff wants you for next game. He's been practicing, thinks he can finally best you."

Emma looked towards the billiard tables to see a beefy looking guy, chalking up the top of a pool cue menacingly. A smirk crossed her features as she came back over the top of the bar the exact same way she had gone over. She hopped down to the floor. "Griff has been challenging me for the last six months. Delusions of grandeur."

Nick leaned back against the bar, relaxing back with his arms crossed casually across his chest. "I don't know Swan; he's gotten pretty good."

"He may be pretty good, but I'm better."

Regina chuckled. "So modest."

Emma shrugged, smiling cheekily. "No problem being proud of things you're good at." The glint in her eyes implied that there were other things she was good at.

Nick chuckled, looking between the two women.

Emma ignored his teasing gaze and leaned in close to the brunette, kissing her briefly but with sound intent. "I'll be back as soon as I wipe the floor with him." She turned and walked with a swagger that said she knew she had skills towards the guy waiting by the plum felted pool table.

"How long have you known Swan?" Nick moved to sit on the stool beside Regina's, staring after the blonde.

Regina grabbed her drink and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. "Officially, a month."

"You must be some dame." Nick's voice held an air of awe. "I've known her for six years now and I've never seen anyone last the night, let alone a month. She doesn't allow people in."

Despite the thrill she felt at having someone who obviously had some kind of history with the blonde tell her that she was the only one to ever rope the younger woman in, she found her lips pursing. "She let _you_ in."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Emma was always the apple of Pop's eye. I tried. She was young and carefree, just starting to pick the pieces of her life up. That summer I was staying with Pop back west when I first met her, by the end of it, I would have moved, left my life in Boston to be with her. But just when I was going to suggest it, she disappeared. If there is one thing Swan does better than any other, it's disappear." The smallest amount of bitter melancholy had infused his tone. "She missed her calling, should of been a magician."

Someone called for more beer and Nick excused himself to go take care of his patrons.

Regina studied the blonde, who now had her own stick in hand, and was contemplating the big beefy guy named Griff as he leaned his considerable girth over the lip of the table and was choosing where to place the cue ball to break. The glint in the blonde's eyes bespoke a confidence that she hadn't seen a lot of in the past month. Here, Emma knew her environment like the back of her hand. Here, she felt safe.

Regina swerved on her seat, looking at the man behind the bar, moving with the same ease that Emma had. She flagged him down.

He filled the last of the requests and walked back over to her. "Need a refill?"

She shook her head. "How did you meet her?"

He sighed, placing his palms flat on the bar and resting his weight against his arms. "I was visiting my Pop, back west for the summer. I was going to be away the next fall, studying abroad for my final year of college, so I wanted to spend the summer with him. I had only been there about a month when she showed up on our doorstep, literally. She was in the worst way, a scrap of cardboard over her head to keep the rain from soaking through. She had nowhere to go, hadn't eaten in a few days." He glanced over at Emma as if he were seeing her in his mind's eye, that broken little girl from his past. "Pop brought her inside, fed her, let her sleep on the couch in the office. After that, for the next three months, she lived in the studio apartment above the bar in exchange for tending bar in the evenings."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't she underage?"

He shrugged. "In her condition, he knew she wasn't going to drink."

"What _condition_?"

A shout for more alcohol from down the bar interrupted their conversation.

Nick gestured towards the other end of the bar with a thumb over his shoulder. "Duty calls."

Regina stared after him a long moment before she glanced over her shoulder at the blonde, her body turning as she saw Emma bending to take a shot. The purple felt was nearly devoid of solids, just the yellow 1 ball remaining, three stipes remained. She wondered which Emma was, receiving her answer a moment later as the blonde sent the 1 into the corner pocket. The man named Griff glowered as she repositioned herself in line with the 8 ball, aiming for a kill shot.

The blonde's back was to Regina. As she bent forward to take her shot, the tight denim of her jeans stretched invitingly over her well defined rear end and thighs. Regina bit her bottom lip, openly staring at her girlfriend.

"8 ball, left corner pocket."

Griff released a guffaw that echoed across the room. "You'll never make that."

Emma smiled cockily. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes finding Regina's. She puckered her lips and blew a kiss before turning back to the table and letting the cue ball fly. It slammed the 8 ball, launching it into the side and watching with bated breath as it ricocheted off three different walls before it rolled towards the called pocket. It slowed as the friction from the felt caused it to lose momentum. For a long moment, Regina held her breath, leaning forward on her stool, entranced as she watched the black orb roll lazily towards the corner pocket. It was barely inching forward as it neared the lip, rocking back and forth on the edge, before pausing as if deciding whether it wanted to fall in or not.

"Ha!" Griff pumped a fist in victory.

But his celebration was premature as the ball fell the last millimeter into the pocket. Emma stood up with a satisfied grin. She tossed the pool stick through the air to one of Griff's companions and turned on her heel, walking back over to the bar and Regina.

The brunette stood to meet her, wrapping long arms around the blonde's neck and rewarding her with a long kiss for her victory.

Emma sank into the kiss, her arms snaking possessively around the brunette's waist. She could taste the scotch on the woman's tongue as she sucked it into her mouth, one hand sliding underneath the back of her blazer, stroking the small of her back through the silk of her blouse.

For a moment, the bar around them disappeared and only they existed.

A hard smack on the bar was what finally broke them apart. Emma looked up to see Nick's palm splayed flat across the surface of the bar where he'd just smacked it down.

He pointed at her in teasing accusation. "What'd I say about the private shows? You'll get the guys riled up." There was a playful glint in his eye, almost successful at covering the small tinge of hurt. Almost. But Emma knew how to read him well enough to catch it.

She removed herself from her close proximity to the brunette, leaving one arm loosely draped around the older woman's waist to maintain a tangible connection, but keep distance between their bodies. She knew Nick had a thing for her, still, after all this time. Back then, her wounds had been too fresh. By the time she'd found herself in Boston and worked up the courage to seek him out, she was no longer the damaged girl he'd loved all those years ago. Her life had moved beyond that time and his eyes knew too much. Whenever he looked at her, she saw who she used to be, back in the days before she'd found a reason to be something more. That was her past for a reason, and despite being a presence in her life now, Nick would always be a part of her old world, not her current one.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina watched as the blonde was once again drawn from her side for her fifth challenge. Once Griff had been bested by the blonde, it seemed everyone wanted to try their hand. Emma didn't seem to mind, pocketing her winnings with a sly grin after every win and tossing Regina smiles that seemed to say 'you would think they'd learn'.

She didn't mind either. She liked the relaxed atmosphere of the place. It seemed as good a hole as any in which to hide for a while and its privacy was alluring. Everyone around seemed to be regulars, all with a basic knowledge of each other. By being here with Emma, it seemed that was initiation enough to be considered part of their little group and she soon found herself picking up on the identities of the bar's other patrons.

Nick had stopped by several times to lean across the bar beside her and together they would watch the blonde that both of them desired but only one of them possessed. She felt no threat from the bartender; Emma's eyes had been only for her all night.

Nick came over once more. He had a small rectangle of paper clutched in his hand. He rested against the bar beside her. "She really cares for you." He seemed almost melancholy, a competitor finally realising he has already lost.

Regina smiled, her eyes not leaving the blonde. "And I love her."

Nick held out the small scrap of paper to her. "I've kept this because it helped me remember."

As Regina reached for it, she realised it wasn't paper, but a photograph.

He shrugged. "But after tonight, I think it might be time to let the memory go." He gave her a smile and left her alone with the photograph.

Regina stared down at the photo and the three people it depicted. Nick stood on the left, an older man to the right with a female between them. The familial resemblance between the older man and Nick left little doubt in the brunette's mind that he was Nick's father. The girl was younger than Nick by a few years at least and for a moment Regina mistook her for his sister. But the girl was too pale, her features were all wrong to be related to the two men.

Regina barely recognised her girlfriend in the sunken eyes of the blonde in the photograph. There were no silky golden waves, instead only a head of limp straw, brittle and dull. Her normally vibrant green eyes seemed pained, flat, and hopeless despite the upturn of her lips in what was meant to pass for a smile, though it fell short of the mark. It was the face of someone who has come to the conclusion that there is just tragedy in her blood. This girl was harder, colder, than the woman Regina loved. She saw barely a flicker of the woman she knew. She ran a finger over the girl in the photograph, the girl Emma used to be.

It was only as she lifted her finger from where it had come to rest over Emma's abdomen in the photograph that she saw what she'd been covering. It wasn't immediately noticeable at first glance. The small curve was not prominent under the black t-shirt, especially not when the malnourished features of her face drew one's attention upward. But the moment she realised what it was, it was all she could see. The outward slope of her abdomen beneath her chest. It was distinct enough to not just be a trick of the lighting or a mistake in the angle of the camera. There was no way to deny it. It was a swell indicating the girl bearing it was heavy with child. Emma had been pregnant when this picture was taken. Emma was a mom.

Regina felt a rush of emotions rip their way free from her heart, anger, pain, betrayal, hurt, confusion, even a small twinge of happiness. Emma was a mom. And she hadn't said a word. A million accusations and even more questions popped into her mind. But only one seemed important. What happened to the baby?

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma had sensed the shift in the brunette's mood. After she'd won her sixth and final game of the night, Emma had come to collect her kiss from the brunette to find Regina with her coat back on and her purse slung over her shoulder. It hadn't bothered her, last call was less than an hour away and she was anxious to get home, especially when she had a three hour drive still ahead of her. But Regina's movements had been tight, almost forced.

But now she shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat, unsure how to ask what was on the brunette's mind. What if she was reading too much into it? What if she asked what was wrong and nothing was? Or something was? She wasn't sure which would be worse.

"Tell me about the time you lived above the bar."

Emma jumped a little at the sudden question, partly from the lack of emotion in Regina's voice. "Um, what would you like to know?"

Regina turned to regard her, her eyes telling the blonde to read deeper than her words. "**Everything**."

Emma gripped the steering wheel harder and stared out the windshield of the Mercedes at the dark coastal highway stretching out before her. The road was pretty much their's alone at this hour of the night, nothing to distract from the silence in the car. "I had just been through a rough break up. I fled to San Francisco thinking it was as good a place as any to start over. Los Angeles hadn't done much for me anyway and I wanted a change of pace, a city big enough to lose myself in but small enough that life traveled at a more manageable pace.

"A thirty eight dollar Greyhound ticket got me dropped off at the Ferry Building. I remember walking through the public market and out to the back terrace and staring over at this massive bridge. I thought it was the Golden Gate." She chuckled at her own naivete. "It took me a second to realise it wasn't red..."

"International orange." Regina didn't look away from her window as she corrected her.

Emma raised an eyebrow, staring at the back of the brunette's head. "Why do you even _know_ that?" She sighed. "Fine, I realised it wasn't _International orange_ and I knew it must be the bay bridge. I walked the Embarcadero all the way to Pier 39, amazed. I was entranced; it was unlike anywhere I'd ever been before.

"I used some of my savings to rent a room at this seedy motel for the night and made a plan. I had gotten a copy of the Chronicle and started circling odd jobs as I ate a 3 Musketeers I'd gotten from the vending machine. I fell asleep confident that I'd set out the next day and find work.

"I never considered the weather. It was pouring rain when I left my room the next morning, but I had no options. I slung my duffel over my shoulder and started going down the list of the places I'd circled. Most places took one look at me and said a quick no thanks. I wasn't exactly a strapping young lady in those days. I was a high school drop out who maybe had one decent meal a week and subsisted the rest of the time on a snack here or there.

"I spent that night on the beach; I couldn't afford another night at the motel, not if I wanted to eat anytime soon. The next morning I set out again and my luck was the same. It had rained again all day, my third day in the city and I was beginning to wonder if I'd picked the wrong place, maybe I would have had better luck in Vegas or Sacramento.

"It was after three in the morning when my legs gave out. It was still raining. I collapsed next to this cardboard box, ruined by the rain. I tore off one side as I sat there and held it over my head. I needed to breath without the water running down my throat, needed to consider what to do next.

"I wasn't aware I'd made any noise. I couldn't even hear myself over the rain, how could anyone inside? But next thing I knew, strong arms were helping me up. I couldn't walk; my energy was shot and I'd gone too long without food. My body had been unprepared for all those hills. But Tommy sat me down, gave me something to eat. When I was finished, he took me to his office, helped me down onto the couch and draped an old trench coat over me. Nick kept vigil the whole night for him." She smiled softly. It was the first kind thing a stranger had done for her.

"They dragged the story out of me the next morning over breakfast at a little diner on the corner. I told them I had nowhere to go, asked if they could point me in the direction of the nearest women's shelter. That's when they offered me the apartment upstairs. It wasn't much, a studio barely the size of the living room back home, but it was more than I'd ever had to call my own before.

"I stayed there, cleaning tables and tending bar for four months. I learned a lot from Tommy and I owe him more than I could ever repay. He was the closest thing I've ever had to a father. And Nick... Nick was my older brother."

"Is that all?" Regina's voice was still flat, though her emotions were roiling inside her.

Though the brunette had been asking if that was all there was to the story, Emma mistakenly thought she meant between her and Nick. "Of course. I never felt for him what he did for me. I couldn't be what he needed, then or now."

Regina continued to stare out into the black of night outside her passenger window, too afraid that if she let herself look into Emma's eyes, she'd break. "So, why did you leave?"

Emma found herself shrugging. "I never really examined why I ran each time. It was just a feeling in my gut I'd get. Some cities got me for one month, some for five. I would just get this feeling it was time to move on. I had been working odd jobs in the days while the bar was closed, saving every single penny I could. Tommy never charged me rent and everything was put away, saved for when it'd be needed. I started getting my life on track because they took a chance on me." She saw a sign saying they had twenty five miles to Portland; they'd be back in Storybrooke within the hour.

Regina frowned. "There was no other reason?"

Emma glanced over to see that the brunette still wouldn't look at her. Something was off. She reached over with one hand, squeezing the woman's forearm. "What's wrong?"

Regina finally turned to regard the blonde with eyes filled with betrayal. She shook off the younger woman's hand. "I think you're omitting the most important part of your time with them."

Emma blinked in confusion, thrown off by the pain in Regina's eyes. "I... what are you talking about?"

"The **baby** Emma! You were _pregnant_!"

Emma felt her world drop out from under her. She had been pregnant when she was in San Francisco, that much was true enough. She'd left before he was born. There was no way she was going to raise an infant above a bar. And as much as she had cared about Tommy and Nick, she wasn't really looking for them to throw away their lives to play happy families. But how... "Did Nick tell you?" How dare he violate her trust like that?

"He showed me a photograph from back then. I'm sure he assumed I already knew. That is the kind of thing _girlfriends_ tend to know."

Emma felt shame colour her face. Somehow she had known it would come to this. "Regina, I..."

"Save it!" Regina's voice dripped with venom, the elusive Mayor Mills that everyone in Storybrooke had warned Emma about rising to the surface as the brunette donned the mask she'd worn so well for years. "I don't have the patience for excuses."

Neither of them said a word the rest of the drive, Regina out of anger, Emma out of guilt.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The second the Mercedes was parked in the garage out of the snow, Regina's door was open. She didn't wait for the blonde, storming out the open garage door and up the walk towards the front door.

Emma locked the car, pressed the button to lower the door, and followed, feeling like a dog with her tail between her legs. By the time she reached the stoop, Regina was already inside, but the brunette had left the door open. That was a good sign at least; she could have easily locked Emma out in the cold.

The blonde closed the door, locking it and flipping off the porch light. The ground floor was dark save the open door of the parlour. Of course she had gone for the easy-access alcohol; it's what Emma would have done herself.

Emma stood just inside the door of the room. Regina's back was to her as she stared into the empty hearth as if she would magically conjure a fire with her mind. She didn't know what she could say to repair the burned bridge between them. This was exactly why she guarded her heart, why she didn't let love in. Once things are done, they cannot be undone. Mistakes may be forgiven, but they were never forgotten, they are buried away, one by one, into the hollow graves in our memories, only to be dug up in some unforeseen future when we have need of them. "I don't know what I could have done."

"You could have told me the **truth**!" Regina turned on her, a dangerous cocktail of rage and pain swimming in glassy brown eyes.

Emma flinched back as if the words had been a physical blow. "It's not like you've chosen to share your entire life with me Regina! You're just as much of a mystery to me as I am to you. I'm sorry if sharing the most painful time in my life hasn't been a priority for me but I warned you that I am not used to this!" She shook her head, unsure whether she should be more upset with herself for not coming clean or more angry with the brunette that Regina had expected it of her. She was entitled to keep her history to herself, wasn't she?

She shook her head, backing slowly away, turning once she was out the door. If this were a month ago, if this were the old Emma, she would have bolted straight for the front door. But this was a different version of herself, a new version that couldn't remember the list of guidelines the old version had lived so strictly by. Somewhere in the back of her mind those guidelines were buried deep within their own plot in the graveyard of her memories. She raced instead up the stairs, feeling that old desire to run coupled with a new fear of leaving. She couldn't determine what would hurt her more, running or staying.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: so now Regina knows that Emma was pregnant. yikes. please please please review. coming up next. a conclusion to the fight, whether good or bad, you'll just have to wait and find out


	27. Bring Him Home

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: conclusion of their fight as promised. trying to write as much as can; i'm on bed rest after serious jaw surgery and I am taking full advantage. the plot is beginning to take shape here, more to come. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 27: Bring Him Home**

Regina felt her anger leave in one fell swoop the moment the blonde had left her presence. Her back tensed as she waited for the telltale slamming of the front door as Emma Swan walked out of their lives forever. Surely this would be what would push her away. Like Nick had said, if there was one thing Emma was a master at, it was disappearing.

But the slam never came. She heard heavy footfalls ascending the staircase. She released a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding; Emma was running, but only from the fight. She wasn't leaving, at least, not at this moment.

Regina turned to her purse where she'd angrily tossed it on the couch when she'd stormed in and headed straight for the sidebar. She had talked herself out of the drink at the last moment. It was bad form to drink when one was overly emotional; it never resulted in anything good. The scotch in her system had already caused her emotions to roil over seeing the photograph. She pulled the item in question from where she'd tucked it into the leather bag before setting it aside on the coffee table and sitting on the couch.

She studied the face of her girlfriend from her troubled past. Emma Swan really did look the picture of the lost and broken child that the world had turned its back on. She could understand why the woman kept her guard up, the failed smile and frail body were a sure sign of neglect. Someone had forgotten to care about Emma somewhere along the way. Knowing the woman as she did now, she couldn't even imagine how scared being pregnant must have made the blonde. Emma had done a great job with Henry this past month, but she was older now, wiser. Still, Regina did not doubt that Emma would have been a good mom to that child. But still, a child was the ultimate commitment and Emma herself had admitted that she preferred life free of obligations and responsibilities.

So what had happened to Emma's child? It was the burning question on her mind. Surely Emma wouldn't have aborted her child, especially not when she was as far along as she had been in the picture. She would have had it, wouldn't she? And then it hit her... the **scar**. The scar across her lower abdomen. It had never even occurred to her that it could be what she was now certain it was. Miss Swan had certainly given birth. But then what?

The picture dropped to her lap as a very real possibility struck her. Just because Emma had given birth, didn't mean the child had been born alive. Emma had been so young and severely malnourished; she would have had a higher risk pregnancy than the average woman. What if her child had been stillborn? Or, what if it had perished soon after birth due to some complication?

As hurt as she was by Emma not coming clean, she felt the sudden urge to hold the blonde, to stroke her hair and tell her everything would be alright. Everyday she dealt with the reality that her own son was sick with an illness she couldn't control. She lived with the very real fear of losing him and just the thought that Emma had already experienced such a loss... it broke her heart and sent a wave crashing down inside her to douse the inferno of her anger.

She grabbed the photo from her lap and set it beside her purse on the table, standing and smoothing her hands down her denim covered thighs. She had to speak with Emma. They had to work this out before it damaged what they had so carefully built together beyond repair.

The second floor was dark and uninviting as she ascended rapidly to it. A long arched corridor of identical closed white doors, one no different from the next. Her legs carried her towards the obvious, the master suite. Emma would just have gone to bed without her right? Instinct took her to the place that deep down she most hoped to find the blonde. Things had a chance of ending well for them if she found Emma in their bed.

Regina stood in the thrown open doorway of the master suite, her chest heaving breathlessly from her dash up the stairs and down the hall. But the room was empty, dark, untouched since they had left that morning. "Emma?" The whisper echoed dully back at her from the darkness. The blonde wasn't here. She retreated back down the hall to the guest room. The door was closed but when she opened it, the room was just as unoccupied as the previous.

It was then that she noticed the strip of light underneath the door she had just walked past coming to this one. Henry's room. She walked back to the white door, putting a shaking hand on the knob and opening it. Emma sat on the made bed, her legs bent and her knees tucked tightly up against her chest. She was staring at the small model ferris wheel across the room on Henry's dresser with a blank eyes, lost somewhere in her memories.

"Emma?"

The blonde swiped hurriedly at her eyes to hide her tears but didn't look up at the intruder. "What Regina?"

"Will you talk with me?"

"Funny, you didn't seem to want to talk downstairs."

"Please?" Regina could think of nothing else to say. She wouldn't apologise for being hurt that Emma had failed to share something so important with her.

Emma stroked her fingers across the blue duvet with one hand while the other still clutched her knees protectively against her, contemplating her options. Finally, she released her legs and slid off the bed, standing. She ran a hand over a plush teddy bear sitting on Henry's bedside table before walking past the brunette and out of the room, her eyes avoiding the older woman.

Regina turned out the light and softly closed the door. She turned, looking for the blonde, finding her already halfway down the stairs. "Where...?"

Emma didn't pause or look up. "If you expect to interrogate me about this, I'll need a drink."

_Drinks have a nasty habit of making me forget_. Emma's words from the first night they'd been truly together came back to the brunette. "I thought we could talk in our room." It had always proven to be a safe haven in their relationship.

"It's **your** room Regina, not mine."

Those words stung more than Regina cared to admit but before she could respond, Emma had already disappeared into the parlour. Regina stared at the door she'd just disappeared through as if waiting for her to re-emerge. Finally she sighed, heading downstairs.

She approached the parlour door cautiously, unsure of what she might be faced with when she stepped inside. Nothing could have prepared her for the heartbreak she saw on the blonde's face though, as she stepped into the room.

True to her word, Emma had poured herself a generous glassful of cider, the only thing Regina kept in here anymore. The rest of the alcohol was locked away in a locked cupboard in the pantry, out of Henry's reach. But her glass remained untouched on the table next to Regina's purse. She had obviously been distracted by the photo Regina had left on the table. Emma was staring at the picture with an expression that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be happy or devastated, so instead it compromised and was a little of both.

Regina shut the door softly, not wanting to interrupt the younger woman's thoughts. But even the small click, faint as it was, was enough to break the woman from her stupor. She fell onto the couch softly, still staring at the photograph. "I boxed all these memories away. Separate even from the rest of my photos. Every picture that had anything to do with that time. I've hid from them for years." She set the photo back on Regina's purse and curled up into a ball, sinking into the corner of the couch as if it might protect her. "Some days I feel it'd be safer to just throw them all away, to forget everything." She finally looked up at Regina, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "I am sorry that you had to find out like that. I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Regina slowly left the safety of the doorway, seating herself on the opposite side of the couch. She took in the broken woman before her, feeling slightly guilty that she had brought Emma back to these memories. "It hurt. Something so big and you didn't want to share it with me. I told you before, this is a safe place. I will never judge you Emma. I have a past too and it isn't as pretty as you might think."

"You've never shared it with me." Emma's tone wasn't accusatory, merely stating a simple fact.

Regina nodded, suddenly wishing she'd thought to pour her own glass of cider. "I changed when Henry came into my life. He came fairly quick after a huge loss. I never thought I'd recover and he helped bring me back."

Picking up on Regina's mood, Emma leaned forward and slid her own cider glass sown the table and to the brunette.

Regina gave Emma a grateful tilt of her lips before she grabbed the glass and taking a sip.

Emma watched the delicate bobbing of her throat as she swallowed. Then brown eyes met hers and, for perhaps the first time since they'd left the bar, they actually looked at each other. Emma was willing to bet that they most likely both looked like crap. "I..." She looked down at the photograph on Regina's purse and then at her hands. "I was afraid to tell you. You are such a good mother and that was another lifetime. I was a teenager then; I didn't know what I was doing."

Regina bit her lip. She set the glass down and scooted closer on the couch, getting close enough that she was within touching distance of the blonde, though she kept her hands to herself. "I want to know _every_ part of you Emma, the good and the bad, every wrong decision, every moment of joy. I hope one day you can trust me enough to tell me everything." She reached out a cautious hand and laid it on Emma's leg, testing out the contact. It may yet still be too soon for the blonde to respond positively to her touch.

But Emma surprised them both when she placed her hand over Regina's, keeping the brunette's hand pressed against her thigh for a long moment before she entwined their fingers. "I should have told you."

Regina scooted even closer. "You can still tell me."

Emma looked up into Regina's eyes for a long moment before she looked away and nodded. "I've never really talked about..." She took a deep breath and released it. Why was it so hard? She knew why. She was afraid of losing this. She'd lost so much already. She wasn't sure she could take losing Regina, and Henry too. She pulled the woman's hand in her lap. "It might change the way you look at me. Just... just promise me that if it does, you'll give me tomorrow to say my goodbyes to Henry?"

Regina's eyes grew wide. "Is **that** what you're worried about? Oh Emma. Darling." Regina brought her other hand up to the woman's cheek, gently urging the blonde to meet her eyes once more. Once the green gaze returned to hers, she stroked the hand across her cheek. "Nothing you tell me..."

Emma shook her head, leaning back from the touch. "Don't make a promise you can't keep."

"I love you Emma. That _means_ something. Whatever happened all those years ago, it will never change the woman you are today, the woman I fell in love with." She leaned closer to the blonde woman. "Tell me I'm lying. Tell me I don't mean every word."

Emma studied the brunette for several drawn out moments. She had always prided herself on being able to detect other's deceptions; she had even known he was lying to her all those years ago, but idol worship had caused her to overlook her instincts. Either Regina was the one exception to her powers or perhaps the brunette was telling the truth. Either way, Emma decided to believe her. "I can't."

Nodding, Regina finished her earlier statement. "I promise, nothing you tell me could change how I feel about you."

Emma took a deep breath to steady her nerves and then gave one brief nod. She stood abruptly before she could change her mind, her hand never letting go of Regina's. "Well, then I think it's about time I introduce you to someone."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina watched Emma digging around in the box from where she sat on the bed. She wanted, no, she _needed_ to know about Emma's baby. But now that she was on the brink of knowing the truth, she felt a knot coiling in her stomach, a twisting of nerves.

Emma turned around, a small box clutched protectively to her chest. She crossed back to the brunette, sitting softly beside her on the bed.

Regina had never seen Emma look even half as vulnerable as she did right now. This was the closest she had ever gotten to the core of the blonde. She was going to deeper than she suspected anyone had ever been allowed to go before. That was both equal parts thrilling and frightening.

Emma clutched the box, holding it down in her lap, her knuckles white where she gripped it. "It was so shocking to me when I found out. I cursed my luck. Of course I'd get pregnant." She ran a hand over the lid of the box. "But then..."

"Things changed?"

Emma nodded. "I was only three months along at the time, not long enough for the baby to be kicking. I was walking down Santa Monica Pier and I swore, I felt him moving." The hand that had ran over the lid of the box went to her stomach, splaying over it as if she could still feel the baby moving around inside her.

Regina felt a smile involuntarily curling up the corner of her lips. "**Him**?" Her hand slid over Emma's. "It was a boy?"

Emma nodded. "It was a boy." She looked down at their hands for a long moment before she finally lifted the lid of the box that had been closed for over half a decade.

Mostly the old cigar box was filled with photographs of her throughout her pregnancy and in the few weeks that followed when she'd been a mother. A few other things as well. His birth certificate. A copy of his birth record had been sent to his adoptive parents of course, but they'd given her the only copy of his certificate. His footprint card. Everything she'd been allowed to keep, she had kept. She dug through the contents of the box until she found the photo she was looking for, pulling it from the stack. She stared at it for a long moment, setting the box aside on the bedside table as she clutched it. Finally, reverently, she handed the picture over to the brunette, laying bare her most cherished secret to the one person who most held the power to destroy her with it.

Regina took the picture. In it was a sweaty and disheveled Emma Swan. Though this was only a few short months after the photo downstairs had been taken, the woman in the picture seemed so different, healthy and happy, a glow seeming to radiate from her as she smiled at the camera. She held close an infant in a generic sky blue swaddling blanket. He wasn't crying, as one would suspect, instead he was staring at the camera with bright green eyes, full of wonder. A drop of water hit the photograph and it was only then that Regina realised she was crying. She looked up at Emma. "He was beautiful."

Emma nodded, tears at the corner of her own eyes. "Yes, he was."

Regina leaned in and kissed the blonde.

Emma was so shocked, she didn't have a chance to return the kiss before Regina pulled away. The brunette's head rested on her shoulder as they both stared down at Emma's son.

"Tell me about him?"

And so Emma did, from the moment she found out she was pregnant until the moment he was born, every feeling, every single detail. For the first time ever, Emma introduced someone to her son.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Dawn came unnoticed by either of the women, spilling through the window and across the bed. At some point during Emma's tale, they had migrated to sit side by side with their backs resting against the headboard, their hands clasped between them. Neither wanted to admit they were exhausted. Regina was too enthralled with finally knowing one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle that was Emma Swan, and Emma was too afraid that if she stopped herself now she'd never again find the courage to finish.

As soon as the blonde explained her decision to give her son up for adoption, she tapered off quickly, just explaining that she knew someone else could give him more than she could and then leaving it at that. Obviously this was the part she hadn't wanted to share and explain.

Regina looked over at the blonde but Emma wasn't looking at her. Instead she had gone back to staring at the photo.

"They say that the adoptive parents like to name them, that they have the right to change it even if you put something else down on the birth certificate. He just wore this impossibly tiny bracelet that said **Swan Boy** for two weeks."

"It was brave what you did Emma. It must have been impossibly hard to make that choice."

Emma glanced over into brown eyes, tears stinging her own. "Really?"

Regina smiled and nodded. "Of course. When we love something, we tend to hold onto it as hard as we can, because we can't imagine life without the person we love. It is a rare strength to be able to see past our own desires and realise what's best for the one we love is not always us. I made that mistake once long ago and I lost the thing I loved most anyway. You were strong enough to see at only eighteen what I failed to see when I was much older."

Emma leaned over, bringing her lips solidly against the brunette's. How had she ever thought that Regina would have a problem with this? She was struck by the wonder of the past month, a random act of fate that had delivered her to this woman. Her kisses tapered off to small pecks as she found herself unable to fully retreat from the older woman's lips.

Regina smiled, her kisses beginning to roam across the younger woman's face, kissing the tears from the corners of her eyes before moving down her cheek to her jaw. "Thank you darling, for telling me."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The Princess was lost in blackness for a long moment before she recalled how to open her eyes. The drapes were drawn closed around her bed and she could see nothing beyond it. But voices came from beyond the velvet barrier, voices she recognised.

"What is wrong with her?" Snow's voice was soft, worried.

A stuttering voice that Emma vaguely recognised but couldn't place answered. "I fear she's not responding to any of the normal remedies Your Highness."

"What does that mean?" It was her father's voice now, King James' voice a mixture of anger and worry.

"It means there are darker forces at work here. The Princess has been touched by dark magic. That is the only answer."

The Princess ached to call out to her love. Regina was here. As long as Regina was here, she need fear nothing. Regina would never let anything happen to her. She reached for the velvet curtain, her fingers skimming across the top of the blankets that covered her. Her fingers just brushed the drapes before her energy left her and she succumbed once more to the blackness.

/-/

"You never leave her side, do you?"

Emma awoke to her mother's words, not quite an accusation but nowhere near a friendly observation either. She didn't have the energy to open her eyes and face the woman. A part of her feared that if she truly awakened, her parents would insist upon taking her back to the White kingdom. She didn't want to leave Regina, not now, not ever.

"By her side is my place. Until such time as we can determine what has befallen her, I will not leave her. She is mine, to love and to protect. You have never understood that."

"What **you** have never understood, _Queen_ Regina, is that she has never been yours. You took advantage of a desperate situation when she was but a child and she has followed your star in the sky ever since. Had circumstances been different, she would never have crossed your path let alone fallen in love with you."

"What has happened to you Snow? What happened to the girl I admired, the girl who wished to end this pointless blood feud?" A deep heavy sigh came from the brunette. "You once believed, as I do, that our mothers' sins were not our own. You thought for yourself."

"I grew up Regina. As should you. We were always meant to be enemies. It's written in our blood."

"You should want more for your child." Regina's voice held a bitter edge.

"I only want my child protected. And it's obvious being here with you is not doing that much for her."

/-/

Emma's eyes blinked open. This time the drapes had been pulled open and the chamber beyond was visible. Flowers and gifts, favours paid by the commonfolk to their ailing Princess, littered tables and shelves. The young queen was resting in a chair drawn up beside the bed. She looked far from comfortable, but Emma knew that Regina would endure a thousand nights in that chair to remain by her side. She smiled at the woman. Her hand moved, with slightly more ease than before, crawling across the blankets until her fingers were close enough to intertwine with the ones resting on the arm of the chair.

Regina's head instantly shot up, every nerve in her body at attention. Her dark eyes focused on the princess resting on the bed. For a long moment, neither woman moved, neither breathed, as they stared across the small space between them. A single tear, unrequested and unnoticed, trailed down the dark woman's cheek.

Emma reached up trembling fingers to wipe it from existence.

Regina seized her hand before it could reach her face. She held the blonde's gaze for a long moment before she pressed delicate kisses to each fingertip in turn. The next went to the center of her palm and then they became a frantic blur, the briefest touch of lips to skin before they were moving on to the next spot. Finally a kiss was pressed to the faint pulse in the blonde's wrist, so soft it was but the flutter of a hummingbird's wings. But still, it **was**, and that was enough for Regina. It meant she had time. She kept her lips pressed firmly against the spot, as if to remove them was to condemn the princess.

Emma allowed her the consolation she sought in this action, watching her with weary eyes. There were many questions on her mind, even more that she could ask. She knew something was wrong with her, something had happened. Be it some common affliction as her parents believed, or the dark magic that Regina suspected, she was still in a bad way. But Regina had always been her safe place, the one thing that had been there through everything. She knew, despite what was happening to her, it was time for her to be the same for the Queen. "Come here my love." Her voice was hoarse and weak. She tugged her hand gently, urging the woman closer.

Regina watched her for a long moment, studying her. She released the blonde's hand, standing abruptly. Lifting the skirts of her elaborate gown, she eased herself down onto the bed beside the younger woman. She turned on her side, resting up on her elbow as she stared down at the blonde. "Prin... Emma..." Tears threatening to spill choked off whatever she had been about to say.

The Princess shook her head, just the faintest movement back and forth. "I will be okay."

Regina shook her head. "You cannot know that."

Emma smiled. "You remember the day we met?" She waited for the Queen's nod before she continued. "I was supposed to die that day. You changed my fate, Regina. You _saved_ me. I am not afraid to face once more a fate I faced long ago. I have already looked Death in the eyes; I no longer fear her." She brought her trembling fingers back up to the tan face above hers.

The dark woman withdrew from the touch. "I will not lose you. I saved you once; I will save you again."

Emma dropped her hand, too weary to keep it up. She heaved a heavy sigh, a sound fringed with doubt.

"No! I **will** save you!" Regina pressed a solid kiss to Emma's forehead. "I don't care if I must curse this whole wretched land to do it. I will find a way."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma sat up in bed, the image of the dark queen receding back into the recesses of her subconscious. Sunlight spilled in through the window of the guest room. It was well up into the sky, sometime in late morning. She had been asleep for a few hours. She looked around the room. Regina was nowhere in sight, though her scent still lingered on the pillow beside hers. She buried her face against the pillowcase and inhaled deeply, smiling to herself.

She slid off the bed. Her feet touched the floor and she was up, stretching her muscles to ease the kinks out after her impromptu nap. It was only a few feet to the closed door and she opened it to an empty hallway. The lights were still off downstairs when she looked over the edge of the railing. She walked down the hall towards the master suite; maybe Regina had gone to take a shower. They would need to pick up Henry in a few hours.

The sound was faint but it still stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked back down the hall at the sound of hushed voices. For a long moment she stayed frozen where she was, hesitating. There was still a part of her that felt the stranger in the foreign land that was the mayor's massive residence, in fact, then entire town of Storybrooke. Was it really her place to snoop around? She should just go downstairs and have a banana, wait for the brunette to seek her out when the older woman was ready.

In the end, curiosity won out. She shuffled quietly back up the hall past her guest room and down to the opposite side of the long hallway where the other guest rooms were. She hadn't been in most of the rooms on this half of the second floor. Behind each identical white door was another mystery.

She followed the muffled sounds to a door just like the ones on either side of it. She considered knocking but she didn't want to interrupt the quiet voice talking heatedly on the other side. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

It opened to an in home office, decorated in stark whites and blacks, a more compact and simplified version of her office at City Hall, though this version had more personal touches here and there. Regina was sitting behind the spacious glass desk, talking into her cell phone, her lips turned down at the edges in the beginnings of a frown.

"I don't care if it's going to be difficult! I pay you to work through the difficulties! I am inquiring as to whether it is possible. Do we have a chance here or not?"

Emma closed the door softly behind her and leaned back against it. The brunette still hadn't changed from the previous night's date outfit. The blazer and silk blouse under it were wrinkled from their time holding each other on the guest bed that morning, but Regina didn't seem to notice or care.

Regina's lips thinned out in displeasure as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. She pinched the bridge of her nose in an effort to maintain her quickly crumbling composure and keep her temper in check. "I don't care what you have to do or how much it will cost. Make. It. Happen. Or I will find someone who will." She abruptly ended the call, dropping her phone onto a stack of papers on one side of the desk.

Emma cleared her throat to alert the older woman to her presence.

Regina looked up, surprised to see the blonde by the door. Her anger left then, replaced swiftly by exhaustion. "You're awake."

"And you never slept." Emma sauntered over to the desk and around it. She leaned down, a hand resting on each of the arms of the chair, caging the brunette in her seat. "You look tired. You should have curled up with me." Emma lifted one hand to run her index finger over the older woman's exposed clavicle. "I don't like waking up alone."

Regina's eyes slipped closed as she relaxed at the contact. "I'm sorry darling; I had urgent business to attend to."

"Mmmm... such as?" Emma's finger trailed up the side of her neck and across her jaw.

Regina's eyes opened and she stared up into green as she bit her lip. It was confession time and she had no idea how Emma would react. She pushed out of the chair, standing. Her hands slid over the blonde's hips, gripping them and lifting her with surprising ease. Emma knew she herself was lean but she still hadn't realised someone equally as lean, like Regina, could possess so much upper body strength. The brunette set the younger woman on the edge of the desk, standing close, insinuating herself between the blonde's dangling legs. "I've been on the phone with my lawyer."

Emma raised an eyebrow in question.

Regina took a moment to consider how best to approach this. "You were young Emma. You made the best decision for your child. But you aren't that girl anymore, and..." Regina grabbed the blonde's hands in her own, entwining their fingers as she stared down into her eyes. "And you have something now that you didn't have then; you have me."

Emma's brow furrowed. "What... Regina, why were you on the phone with your lawyer?"

The brunette took a deep breath. "I want him to build a case for us."

"A case for what?"

The younger woman still hadn't pulled her hands away and Regina took that as a good sign. "To bring him home."

Emma was confused for a moment. "Him?" Then, it washed over her like a wave and her jaw dropped. "Are you serious? What about his family? Regina, he was adopted, _legally_ adopted."

"We don't have to do anything right away. We'll just obtain the records and check in. If he's doing well, then we'll know, and it can put your mind at ease. If he's not, then you and I, we'll get him back."

Emma was breathless. How was she even supposed to process this? She'd never actually considered that she'd ever have a chance to see him again. She wanted to. She knew that much. She wanted to know her son, wanted it desperately. But she never thought she'd get a chance with him. Her baby. Her son. He was within her grasp. It seemed too good to be true. And it really wasn't her place. She began to shake her head. "Regina..."

Regina squeezed the younger woman's hands. "You saved my son Emma. Now let me save yours."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews? please and thank you


	28. A Date With John Bender

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: to answer a lot of PMs I got on the subject, regina said specifically that they would find Emma's son and check in BEFORE taking any action. if he's doing fine with his adoptive family, she stated they would NOT interfere. that being said, this is just a fluffy filler chapter so I could get a few scenes thrown in before the plot progresses further. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 28: A Date With John Bender**

Regina watched the blonde from the bed, where she sat patiently with legs crossed as Emma paced around frantically. The younger woman was running late for her lunch with Miss Blanchard, thanks to her procrastination over confronting the schoolteacher. Her body had seemed to refuse to get ready until she'd looked at the clock and found she only had fifteen minutes until she was supposed to meet the woman at Granny's. Only one arm was currently in the sleeve of her purple sweater, the other half still bunched up on her shoulder, giving a full view of one white lace covered breast and a section of creamy stomach. Her jeans were on, but still unzipped, leaving Regina an enticing display of the matching underwear. Both socks were on, but only one boot. The other was next to the bedroom door. The blonde was frantically brushing out her hair and pulling it up into a high ponytail, only to then realise she'd forgotten the hair tie on the en suite sink.

"You really don't have to do this Emma."

Emma came back out of the en suite, her hair finally fixed. She pushed her arm through the empty sleeve of her sweater and pulled it down. "No, I need to get this over with. She's not going to stop asking me and I have no legitimate reason to avoid her." She scooped up her boot from by the door and plopped on the edge of the bed beside the brunette to pull it on.

"Wouldn't you rather stay home with me? We've got some time before we have to pick up Henry from the Nolan's. I could make it worth your while." Regina's hand slid down into the opening in the blonde's jeans, sliding down over the front of her underwear to cup her through the white material. "I still haven't been able to pay you back for last week."

Emma paused halfway through tying her boot, her eyes fluttering closed as she bit her bottom lip. She knew she had to finish getting ready and get over to Granny's, but Regina's offer was so tempting and the hand between her thighs was quite the motivator. But, in the end, responsibility won out and she resumed tying her boot, despite the hand still cradling her sex. "I'll be back as soon as I possibly can, but I have to deal with this."

Regina pouted and withdrew her hand, zipping up the younger woman's jeans and buttoning them for her. "You're no fun."

Emma stood, but leaned back down to place a lingering kiss on the brunette's lips. "You'll see just how fun I can be when I return."

Regina smirked and nipped at her bottom lip, before withdrawing. "Do not keep me waiting too long Miss Swan. I have been waiting all week and I am done with being patient."

Emma smiled, standing up and grabbing her wallet, slipping it into her pocket. "No more than an hour tops, I promise."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Mary Margaret stared out the window at the plowed length of Main Street. A sad sigh emitted from her thin lips as she saw no sign of the yellow bug her former roommate drove or of the woman herself. It was almost fifteen minutes after their scheduled lunch time and the blonde still had yet to show.

Ruby leaned over the counter as she watched one of her very best friends check the length of Main for the millionth time in the half hour she'd been here. Always prompt, Mary Margaret had arrived for her lunch fifteen minutes before their scheduled time and her eyes had been glued to the window and the street beyond ever since. She was sure the woman didn't notice, but she hadn't even taken a sip of her tea yet and the hot liquid had already gone cold. Ruby felt for her friend. Poor Mary Margaret, nothing ever seemed to work out for her. Her secret love for a married man. She hid it well, but Ruby had a nose for sniffing out these things. Now, her attempt to help Emma by pushing her into the arms of the mayor was backfiring. The schoolteacher just never seemed to win.

She heard Mary Margaret's sharp intake of breath and followed the woman's suddenly alert gaze to where the blonde was hurrying through the green archway and into the little patio at the front of the diner. She bustled in, rubbing her hands together.

"Sorry, I'm late." Emma made a beeline for the table where her former roommate was sitting with her hands clasped around a mug of cold tea. "It took longer to walk than I thought it would. Sargeant and Christensen both haven't been plowed yet." She pulled out the seat across from the schoolteacher and fell into it with an unceremonious thump.

Ruby bustled up, carrying a fresh hot cocoa, the whipped cream funnel on top dusted with a sprinkling of cinnamon, just as she knew the blonde preferred it. "Here you go Em." She set it in front of the blonde. "You both good with the usual?"

The two women nodded at the young waitress and she left them to their conversation with a grin.

Mary Margaret sipped her tea and resisted the urge to spit it right back out. As if reading her mind, a fresh cup appeared right before her and Ruby was gone again before she could vocalise her gratitude.

Emma collected a scoop of whipped cream on her finger and popped it into her mouth.

Mary Margaret cleared her throat, bobbing the bag in the hot water to steep it. "Thank you for coming."

Emma pulled her finger from between her lips and nodded. "You've done enough for me to deserve a chance to explain."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I didn't realise what happened would hurt you so much Emma. You're one of the best friends I've ever had and I love living with you. But I honestly thought it would be better this way. You were practically living with the mayor already. I figured you wouldn't mind. I didn't want you to continue living at the flat on weekends out of some twisted sense of loyalty to me."

Emma frowned. "You could have just told me that. I wasn't hurt that you wanted me to move out. We both know I was on the verge of it anyway. I was hurt that you _blindsided_ me like that. I tripped over my stuff on the way in." There was no disguising the touch of pain in her voice. "I haven't had many friends in my life, but I don't think that's what they do."

Mary Margaret reached across the table to rest her hand on Emma's arm.

Emma pulled it from the table on instinct.

Mary Margaret's face fell a little, but she said nothing as she drew her hand back.

"I forgive you Mary Margaret; I really do. I'm just a little uncertain as to where we go from here."

Ruby sidled up with their lunch, setting the plates in front of each of her friends. "Grilled cheese for Em and turkey burger no mayo for M&M. Anything else ladies?"

"No Rubes, thanks." Emma smiled up at the younger woman.

Like most tense meals, it became easier as the food arrived, as the pressure to talk was eclipsed by the action of eating. One can't talk with their mouth filled with bread and cheese.

Mary Margaret finished before Emma had consumed one half of her sandwich. She washed down her burger as watched as the blonde continued to eat slowly. "We could make this a weekly thing, get to know each other again. We could have lunch here at Granny's or at the school or at the flat or even at the mansion if Regina will let us. I want to prove that nothing has changed."

Emma stared at the brunette thoughtfully before nodding. "We could try it. It couldn't be on Sundays though. Regina has claimed my weekends; it took a lot of convincing just to get out of the house today."

Mary Margaret frowned. "She's getting a little possessive, don't you think?" The schoolteacher remembered back to when she'd last seen the blonde, when the mayor had spoken for her at Granny's, chastising the schoolteacher for interrupting their dinner as if she were one of her students.

Emma stared at the melting whipped cream on top of her hot cocoa. "She's not possessive, just... _protective_. She doesn't want me to get hurt."

"And she thinks I am going to hurt you?" Mary Margaret seemed taken aback.

Emma shrugged. "I think she'd lock me away in a tower to protect me from the world if she could. It's the way she loves; she holds tight." Emma smiled to herself. "And I think that's something that I might need."

"Just make sure that she doesn't hold so tight that it crushes you." Mary Margaret watched the blonde over the rim of her mug as she sipped her tea. She made a silent vow to herself then that she would protect her friend at all costs from the likes of Regina Mills. That's what best friends were for after all.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The house was dark when she walked back into it, with one minute to spare on her hour time limit. Things had gotten easier between her and Mary Margaret as their time together had got on. The tension had slowly receded into the background as Emma remembered why she had cared for the woman in the first place. Mary Margaret wouldn't have been able to hurt her if she hadn't cared about the woman deeply. They had agreed to have lunch every Tuesday and go out for drinks with the girls on the occasional Friday night. Emma had remained tight lipped about coming clean to Regina, not because she was ashamed, but because she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Maybe this coming Tuesday.

Emma saw two unlit tallow candles standing in ornate holders on the dining room table, which was set with two sparkling place settings. But she couldn't smell anything cooking and she didn't hear any sounds from the kitchen indicating that's where Regina was. "Regina?"

"Upstairs darling."

Emma went up the stairs to the second floor landing. The hallway was just as dark as downstairs, but a faint glow was coming from the open door of the master suite, drawing her in that direction. She walked slowly down the hall until she could peek into the room.

Regina was nowhere in sight, but the room was aglow with candlelight. Small votives were burning in little glass holders all around the room. With the curtains drawn tight to block out the afternoon light, it gave the room a seductive dimness. She stepped inside and closed the door, breathing in the scents from the fragrant melting wax. "Mmm. Regina?"

The brunette stepped through the open door of her walk in closet and Emma's jaw dropped. The blonde couldn't really claim that anything Regina wore wasn't sexy on the woman, but this ensemble, or lack thereof, took the cake. The deep crimson of the see through chemise the brunette was wearing seemed to make her eyes appear dark and feral, or perhaps it was just the lust and anticipation that was giving her the appearance of a predator. The matching scrap of material that (almost) protected her modesty was little more than a triangle of fabric and two pieces of thread it was so small.

Emma's mouth had gone dry and her lungs refused to cooperate. She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on her jeans as she was finally able to close her mouth and dry swallow.

Regina's lips curled up in a devilish grin. "I called Kathryn and she agreed to keep Henry another night. You can just pick him up from the Nolan's on your way home from the station tomorrow. I figured we could have a night alone, since we got... distracted last night." Her hand ran down the front of the see through chiffon of her lingerie as she walked slowly over to the blonde.

Emma watched, unblinking, as the older woman circled her frozen form.

"First order of business, I get my payback. I've been waiting all week to touch you and I believe I've been a good girl long enough. Then, a nice bath to relax before dinner. And after dinner we can curl up in the family room with a glass of wine, maybe watch a movie." Regina came to a stop in front of the blonde. "Does that sound agreeable?" Her tone left little doubt that the blonde would agree.

Emma nodded. As much as she loved spending time with Henry, it gave her a small thrill to know that their spoiled plans yesterday were going to be salvaged. She'd only been around for less than a month and she already realised that a night alone was a rare thing as a mother; you had to seize the opportunity when it arose because you never knew when it would come around again. Carpe diem and all that.

Regina grin widened. "Good girl." She stepped forward, pressing a quick kiss to Emma's cheek. "Now, darling, I do believe you are slightly overdressed for the occasion."

Emma looked down at her sweater, jeans, and boots. The only places her skin was even visible were just her hands and from her neck up. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge so she could untie her boots. Why had she worn the ones that laced up? This was going to take forever. But just as she set in on one, olive skinned hands found the laces of the other and began to undo them. Between the two of them, they had the boots off in less than a minute. The blonde didn't have any time to think before Regina's hands were at the button of her jeans, unzipping the pants she had zipped up only a little over an hour ago. Emma lifted her hips slightly off the bed so that the pants could be pulled off and discarded.

Regina stood, grabbing the bottom of the sweater and pulling it up over Emma's head, tossing it behind her. She looked down at the blonde in the white lace, a direct contrast to the red she wore, the colours most commonly associated with innocence and damnation, respectively. "Much better."

Emma reclined back on her arms, staring up at the brunette and taking her first sweeping view of the older woman. The chiffon she wore was meant to entice, not to hide and her entire body, save her breasts where the material was double layered to provide coverage, was on display. The blonde unconsciously licked her lips as her eyes lingered over the flair of a hip, the well of her navel, the steady rise and fall of her chest. She sat up, wrapping her arms around the mayor's thighs and used her strength to pull the brunette down to straddle her lap.

Regina smirked, settling down on her new perch comfortably as her mouth found Emma's. She brought a hand up to each of the blonde's cheeks, cradling her face lovingly as she kissed her. Despite the fire in her stomach and the grand production she'd just put on to seduce the younger woman, she wanted this to be about more than carnal desire. This was about smoothing over the rough patch between them; it was about getting back to where they'd been before they'd gone to Boston.

Emma wrapped an arm around Regina's waist to steady her and used her other to drag them both backward until she could lay back against the pillows properly. The hand on the arm still slung around the brunette's waist began to stroke a lazy line up the trail of the older woman's spine.

Regina released the blonde's mouth, kissing the corners softly as her eyes met the blonde's green ones. She didn't break the gaze as her hands slid up the lean stomach to cup the perky breasts of the younger woman. Her thumbs rubbed over already hardening peaks through the white lace, making them stiffen further. She was fascinated by the fluttering of Emma's eyelids as the deputy fought to keep her attention locked on the woman above her. Her fingers trailed up over the top of the fabric and then slipped down inside to cup the protected flesh. The bra, which had already been comfortably stretched without the added intrusion, rolled down, freeing the mayor's hands and the mounds they held. She rolled the hard peaks between her fingers, gently pulling in an attempt to tease the younger woman.

Emma finally conceded their staring contest as her eyes fell closed and she moaned low in her throat. She hadn't expected the gentle touches and the slow exploration. With all the brunette's talk of impatience and unsated desire, she had expected to be taken roughly. But this, this was something much more intimate. As Regina's adroit tongue joined the fray, painting teasing circles around her right nipple, Emma's back bowed off the bed.

Regina took advantage of the new arched position of the blonde's back to reach quickly under her and unclasp the woman's bra. She hooked her fingers in the straps at the young woman's shoulders and drew them down her arms, tossing the garment aside once it was free of her flesh. Instead of resuming her assault on the blonde's chest, she took the opportunity to divest the woman of her underwear as well, clutching the soaked material in a fist like a trophy before it too joined the graveyard of clothes on the floor.

Emma, not one to be overdone, reached under the chiffon of the chemise and got a firm grip on the barely there bit of material between Regina's thighs, pulling it down.

Regina smirked and sat down on the bed so she could drag the flimsy material the rest of the way off and toss it aside. She moved back over and straddled the woman's hips, gripping the hem of her lingerie. She gave the blonde a wicked smirk before dragging the chiffon up and over her head. It too joined the rest of the clothes on the ground.

Emma gripped the older woman's hips before running her hands up the woman's sides, just grazing the sides of her breasts as she passed them before they wrapped around to the back of her shoulders and dragged the woman's torso down onto her own.

Regina's mouth sought the first piece of bare flesh it could find, the space where the blonde's neck met her shoulder. She bit down on the corded muscle just below the skin, smirking when it elicited a gasp from the younger woman. As Emma's head fell back against the pillow, offering up the delicious expanse of her throat to the brunette's hungry mouth, Regina moved to her pulse point, sucking hard on the flesh, marking it, and therefore Emma, as her own. She released the skin long moments later with a wet pop, her tongue tracing the pattern left on the bruised flesh possessively. Her tongue skirted along the base of the younger woman's throat until it reached the hollow at the forefront, dipping into the enclave briefly before trailing a line straight up the center of her throat. She could feel each of the blonde's panted breaths under her tongue until she reached the soft underside of her jaw. Her tongue continued its path up and over her chin, finally meeting her mouth once more and taking to it hungrily.

Emma met the older woman's tongue with equal fervor, caressing its silky length with her own.

Regina ground down her hips at the contact, bringing her core involuntarily against Emma's.

Emma gasped, releasing Regina's mouth as she rolled her hips back up in an effort to replicate the contact. "Regina..." She knew her voice was bordering on whining, but the heat between her thighs was getting hard to ignore.

Smiling against the woman's cheek, one hand slid down the blonde's stomach until fingers were teasing through sodden curls. Regina purred deep in her throat.

Emma's flesh was on fire, craving the fingers she felt only inches away from where they were truly needed. She canted her hips to urge the woman lower.

Regina skimmed one finger through her length, her eyes fluttering at the abundance of wetness that had accumulated between her girlfriend's thighs. The skin under her fingers was flush with need and as her finger traced across the line of her entrance, it sunk in with no pressure at all. Her breath caught in her throat. It felt as if it had been forever since she had felt the blonde's walls drawing her in.

Emma whimpered. "Oh god, I've missed you."

Regina felt a blush creep up her throat at the whispered words. She wasn't even sure if the blonde had intended to utter the words or not, but she felt a loving warmth settle in the pit of her stomach. She let another finger join the other inside the younger woman before she began slowly thrusting in and out of her.

Emma's head sunk heavily back into the pillow, another whimper tumbling from parted lips.

Regina licked along the column of her throat and up to her ear. "You feel so good." She picked up the pace just a step, moving in and out of the blonde at a steady pace.

Emma wrapped her legs around the brunette, angling so that the mayor's fingers slid deeper within her, rocking herself against them, desperate for more contact.

Regina captured Emma's lips, swallowing the little sounds of pleasure emitting up from the blonde's throat. Taking pity on her lover, she added a third digit and increased her pace, feeling the woman beneath her happily increase the speed of her hips to meet the thrusts. She swallowed the happy moan that erupted from Emma's throat as her orgasm truly started to build. She broke away from the blonde's mouth to watch the woman's rush to the edge and then as she toppled over into bliss.

Emma let her eyes slam closed as her back bowed off the bed, the muscles in her stomach tightening for a drawn out moment as she stayed frozen for a long second before collapsing back down to the mattress, her body buzzing from the high.

Regina placed an open-mouthed kiss to the pale throat, coaxing the blonde back down. She waited until green eyes met hers once more before she withdrew her drenched fingers, bringing them to her mouth and licking them clean.

Emma's chest still heaved unevenly and she was left unable to do nothing but watch as Regina kissed her way down her clavicle to her breast bone and then down to a nipple, dragging her teeth lightly across the taut flesh before enveloping it with the heat of her tongue. She lifted her fingers to brown waves, stroking them through soft locks.

Regina switched to the other breast, lavishing it with equal attention before continuing her descent over the battlefield of her torso. She paused to swirl her tongue in the blonde's navel. Then she came face to face with the cause of their argument the previous night. The scar. It seemed different now that she knew how Emma had gotten it. She nuzzled the marred flesh, burying her face against it for a moment. She pulled back enough to pepper kisses along the imperfect line. It was quickly becoming her favourite spot on the blonde's body.

Emma blinked back tears. She had been so ashamed of that scar for far too long, but the way the brunette was staring down at it, made her feel as if it were her best feature. "I love you." The words still amazed her every time they left her mouth, not because of how foreign they still were but because of how true they felt.

Regina looked up the length of the blonde's lean torso to eyes filled with adoration. She reached for one of the blonde's hands, tangling their fingers together. "I love you too." She squeezed the hand held firmly in hers before moving southward to dripping heat and the promise of watching Emma come undone once more.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma came upstairs from putting away the last of the dishes she'd just washed from their dinner, flipping off the downstairs llights as she went. Their evening so far had gone exactly as planned. After Regina had exercised her skillful prowess with her tongue, she had drawn them a bath, which they had lingered in until the water had gone cold. They had just enough time to pull on some semblance of pajamas before dinner was ready. The food was amazing as always, but Emma had been more enchanted with the company. She'd sat beside the brunette, one leg tucked up under her on the seat, twirling her fork absentmindedly through the pasta on her plate as Regina told her about her animated conversation with Henry that afternoon on the phone.

As her feet touched the second floor landing, she headed straight for the family room. Regina had come up after dinner to pick a movie while Emma volunteered to wash the dishes. Since it was just the two of them, the task hadn't taken long. She opened the door and was greeted by another unexpected sight.

Instead of finding the brunette lounging on the couch, as she had expected, she found Regina in the middle of a makeshift picnic on the floor. A blanket was laid out over the carpet, two wineglasses balanced precariously in one corner next to an expensive looking bottle of wine. Regina was on her knees, her silk nightie barely covering the skin Emma had been denied earlier. The brunette had been adamant that today was about her and had stuck to that all evening, despite Emma's many attempts to give back some of what she was being given.

Regina looked up at the blonde in the doorway. Emma had elected to wear one of her long sleeved silk button up pajama tops, sans the matching pants. The bottom of the garment barely dusted the tops of her thighs, giving a teasing view of her underwear when ever she moved just right. The sleeves hung down past her wrists and hands, leaving just the tips of her fingers visible. Her hair had been thrown up into a messy updo for their bath and the blonde had yet to let it down. The whole effect of the ensemble, the casualness of it, was sexy. She beckoned the blonde with a finger. "Care to join me?"

Emma closed the door and made her way over to the blanket set up in front of the couch. She walked in a small circle on the empty half of the blanket a few times like an animal trying to find a comfortable spot before sitting down. "If you hadn't already had me, I'd say you were trying to seduce me Madam Mayor." She eyed the bottle of wine. "Yet it appears you've done this evening backwards."

Regina reached for the bottle and the glasses. "You see Emma, the problem with seduction is that the goal is to get the woman into bed. Once that is done, the night is over. This is not seduction. My goal was not to get you into bed, though I must admit I did rather enjoy that part. No, my goal was something different. Seduction is fulfilling a physical need. Tonight is about fulfilling an emotional need." She poured the rich liquid into the glasses before handing one to Emma.

Emma cradled her glass in her hands for a long moment, staring down into the deep liquid before bringing her eyes up to meet the brunette's. She raised her glass towards the older woman in toast.

Regina raised her own glass. "To you Miss Swan, for giving Henry and I something we never even knew we were missing."

Emma blushed. "To you Regina, for giving me a reason to stay and the one thing I've always searched for, a family." She brought her glass gently against Regina's before bringing it to her lips and taking a generous sip. It was good wine, sliding over her tongue like rich velvet.

Regina still hadn't moved, her hand frozen with the wineglass still raised.

Emma noticed after a moment. "What's wrong?"

Regina shook her head to clear it of its musings. She smiled and finally brought her glass to her lips, taking her sip. "It's nothing. I just... sometimes I'm caught off guard by how happy you make me and the depth of my feelings for you."

The younger woman chuckled. "Believe me, I know the feeling." She looked towards the television, the screen frozen on the screensaver of the DVD player. "What are we watching?"

Regina looked at the screen and shrugged with a small half smile. "Breakfast Club?"

Emma's mouth dropped open, her eyebrows launching up on her forehead in surprise.

"What?"

Emma shook her head, her lips curving into a smile. "You do realise you just became impossibly more sexy?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" She raised herself onto her knees to put her wineglass on the table beside the couch before reaching and snagging the blonde's away from her to do the same. She set the bottle next to the glasses and then rounded on the blonde, pouncing. She pinned the blonde down with her body and reached for the remote, pressing play before tossing the control aside.

Emma grinned, using the momentary distraction to flip their positions, straddling the brunette's stomach as she glared down at the older woman. "You had your fun Madam Mayor. Now, it's my turn."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews? yes, no, maybe so?


	29. Domesticating Emma

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: the beginning of this chapter is very personal to me and was very hard to write. I hope everyone enjoys. the later parts are to celebrate the **royal engagement**. congrats to fred for finally bagging a queen

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 29: Domesticating Emma **

Emma Swan wasn't quite sure when she became so attuned to sharing her bed with another individual. It had been a foreign concept her entire life. She walked through life alone and her sleeping arrangements had always reflected that. Even her son's father hadn't lasted long as a bedmate. Their relationship had been a complicated one and never followed the normal course of things. But since she had started sleeping with Regina, her entire body had become aware, even in sleep, of the woman's presence. It was almost as if she had been sharing the woman's bed for years.

So she felt a slight restlessness in her sleep when Regina shifted in bed. She felt herself pulled back from the deep inviting void of unconscious, brought to the very brink of waking, but not quite making it there. She drifted in the small place where she was able to return to sleep if it was just a slight shift, or that she'd be able to wake if the brunette needed her. She felt the dip in the bed, signaling the brunette waking up. She listened to the barely there sound of bare feet moving across the room.

It took a few moments of silence after the footsteps had stopped before she willed her eyes open. Regina was leaning against the wall in the shadows to the right of the window, clutching the top sheet around her naked frame, staring out into the dimness of the pre-dawn gloom, lost in thought. Her brown hair was mussed from sleep and their activities the previous night, fluffed and wild.

She sat up, rubbing at her eyes with the back of a fist. "Baby, come back to bed."

Regina's eyes slid over to the blonde. Emma was propped up on her elbows, the duvet pooled around her waist, exposing the flesh of the chest. The pale skin of her breasts glowed blue in the remaining moonlight that filtered into the room, her nipples peaked shadows on the expanse. She unconsciously licked her lips. She gave the blonde her most convincing tired smile. "I'll be there in a second darling. Go back to sleep." She resumed looking back out the window, returning to her thoughts.

Emma bit her lip as she studied the brunette. Their was an almost pained look on the brunette's face as she stared out into the white world outside the window. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" This time Regina didn't turn from the window. The muscles in her bare back were tensed into tight coils.

"Whatever is bothering you."

Regina looked at her with a look of confusion. "Why would you think..."

Emma shrugged a shoulder. "Built in lie detector, remember?" She scooted up so she could rest her back against the headboard. "If you don't want to tell me, I understand. I haven't been exactly... _forthcoming_ in this relationship. But, whatever it is that's upsetting you, I'm here for you."

Regina tilted her head and regarded the blonde for several long moments with an inscrutable expression. Finally she pushed away from the wall, walking slowly back across the room towards the bed. She paused beside the mattress, her eyes boring into the blonde's.

Emma's hand ghosted across the duvet, towards the edge of the bed, before she reached out and grabbed the older woman's hand that wasn't clutching the sheet up to cover herself. She lifted the brunette's hand up to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, then moving to each knuckle one by one. She tugged on the hand gently, urging the woman back to bed.

Regina sat gently down on the bed, staring at their clasped hands, a small smile on her face. Finally, with a sigh, she brought up her legs and laid down beside the blonde, curling her body against the deputy's. She rested her head on the younger woman's chest, her ear pressed to the flesh where she could hear the gentle cadence of her heartbeat. She closed her eyes and smiled, one delicate finger tapping the rhythm on the back of the blonde's hand as her own still held it.

Emma had wrapped her free arm around the brunette, holding her close. The index finger of her hand rubbed a soothing trail up and down the older woman's bare upper arm. She didn't have much experience with these situations. It was obvious that Regina was hurting, but she knew she had no right to demand the truth from her. It would be the very definition of hypocritical. She pressed a kiss to the woman's forehead.

"I don't share my past with just anyone. In fact, very few people know the entirety of my history. They know the tragic parts, the noteworthy parts, but they don't know, though I'm sure a few have suspected, what goes on behind closed doors."

Emma was afraid to even breathe too loudly. Regina was about to let her beyond a wall in her life that, by the woman's own admission, very few people had breeched. She hadn't really considered what it would mean to truly **know** this woman, but now that she was on the precipice of discovering a big piece of her past, of what made her the woman she is today, Emma realised she really wanted this. She was quiet, not wanting to push Regina too fast.

"My mother, she was a... _complicated_ woman. Strict, firm, she liked control." Regina bit her lip as she stared at their clasped hands, resting on the blonde's abdomen near her navel, looking but not really seeing, lost in the painful memories of her childhood. "As a young child, I thought it was normal. When she'd grab my arm so hard it would bruise or when she'd lock me in the attic for a whole day without food or water. I thought that **was** discipline; I never knew a different way to live. It wasn't until I came of an age where I was expected to interact in public, go to school and all that, that I actually realised normal children didn't live the way I did."

Emma buried her face in brown hair, kissing the crown of the older woman's head. She squeezed the hand she still held, wrapping her arm tighter around the brunette and holding her close as if that would somehow protect the woman from her memories.

Regina took a shaky breath. "She praised my beauty, saying I was fortunate because she couldn't bear to mark my face. I always thought it was a curse. If she had marked my face, then maybe someone would have _noticed_, someone might have looked beneath the surface of my perfect family to see the truth. But, looking back, I'm not even sure anyone would have noticed anyway. She slipped once, broke her own rule." The tip of Regina's tongue ran unconsciously over the scar on her upper lip. "Still no one said anything. They all accepted my lie about tripping and falling into the corner of the dining table." She released a solitary dry laugh. "Like my mother would ever have tolerated such a display of clumsiness."

She snuggled more firmly against the blonde, letting the rise and fall of the chest beneath her cheek calm her. She pulled her hand from Emma's, but only to trace a line over the small scars on the younger woman's abdomen. "You get good at lying, a master of deceptive smiles and falsified words. People only like to see what's on the surface. To read between the lies, all those fake smiles, they don't want to see what's hiding right below, because deep down they know that they have no clue how to rescue you and if they saw the truth they'd feel obligated to do just that. It's easier to tell yourself you don't see it, ignore it and pretend like you never knew than to know and not be able to help." Her finger paused at a small scar, about an inch long and slightly rounded, below Emma's right breast. It was slightly raised, the flesh oddly distorted, a sign of once burnt flesh. "So you get good at lying. You get so good that it starts to become you who stops seeing the truth buried beneath the surface. You begin to believe your own tales and the fake smiles become fringed with genuity. You forget what it is you were hiding in the first place. You wear sweaters because that's what you've always worn, no longer because you need them to hide the bruises." Her hand came up from Emma's skin and she ran it over the length of her own arm as if expecting to feel the soft material of the sweater sleeve.

Emma knew she shouldn't interrupt but she could see the brunette slipping away from her; she was losing the older woman to her memories. Dangerous memories at that. She placed another firm kiss to the woman's forehead, stroking her hair. "What happened to her?"

"My mother? She died when I was sixteen." She brought her hand back to Emma's abdomen, some of the tension once again draining from her body. She traced the outline of the blonde's navel with the tip of her finger, noting a small almost unnoticeable circular indentation that indicated the flesh had once been pierced. "You know, it's funny in a twisted sort of way, but even though living with her was torture and everyday I could dream of nothing more than escaping, of running far away and never looking back, I still missed her."

"Despite it all, she's still your mother." Emma bit her own lip. She, more than most, understood the conflicted feelings that came from desperately seeking the love of a parent who doesn't want it. There was still a part of her, barricaded behind her own walls that longed for the parents who'd abandoned her a lifetime ago.

Regina was silent for a very long time before she spoke again, just absently stroking Emma's bare flesh as the dawn rose outside their window, Monday coming to call, bringing the work week with it. But finally she spoke again, breaking the silence. "I made a promise to myself that I would always do right by Henry. I never in his life want him to question whether or not he is loved." She finally raised her head off Emma's chest so she could look up into green eyes, her own dark brown swimming with the moisture of unshed tears. "I want him to always feel loved." Regina's gaze slipped away.

Emma put a hand to each of the brunette's cheeks, holding her face in place as she bobbed her own head to catch the older woman's gaze. "Baby, he does feel loved. He's **so** happy. Our poor little man... he has every reason to be sad, but he's not. He's so full of hope, so full of life. That's because of **you** Regina. He has the best mom in the world, one who would do anything for him. He has a big heart, just like her. He knows he's loved." Tears stung her own eyes now, burning insistently, though she refused to let them fall. "And believe me, that makes all the difference." She brushed the brunette's hair behind an ear with one hand, while the thumb of the other stroked a tear stained cheek.

Regina leaned in, crashing their lips together. It was a kiss loaded with desperation, not for physical contact but for emotional reassurance. The hand that had been clutching at the sheet, holding it protectively around her body as if it were a shroud shielding her most painful secrets from prying eyes, finally loosened its hold on the fabric. It dropped from around her body, falling unnoticed to the duvet, as she crawled into the blonde's lap, wrapping her arms around the younger woman's neck. _Do you know you're loved Emma Swan? Do you know I cannot bear the thought of living without you? Do you?_ But whether she was too scared of the answers or her lips were too preoccupied to utter the words aloud, she didn't get around to asking.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina smoothed down her pencil skirt as she made her way down the last few steps to the ground floor. Her work day stretched dauntingly before her. It had been a very long time since she had last found herself dreading the arrival of Monday, but as she watched the blonde, her cell phone tucked between shoulder and ear as she chatted with whoever was on the other end of the call, she found that her job now lacked the appeal it had held just a month ago. She liked being mayor of Storybrooke, but for the first time in her life, she was starting to realise maybe there were things more gratifying that being in control and having power.

Emma ended the call and tucked her cell back into the pocket of her jeans. She caught sight of the brunette at the bottom of the stairs and walked over.

"Who was that on the phone darling?"

"Katherine."

"Oh?" Regina couldn't keep the concern from seeping into her voice.

Emma heard the implied question without the brunette even having to utter it. "Henry's perfectly fine. I actually called her." Emma smiled. "I thought maybe I'd have her drop Henry off at City Hall around noon so you and he could have lunch before I get there at one to pick him up. You both haven't really gotten much time together since you went back to work and I thought it'd be nice."

A slow smile curved up the corners of her lips. She beckoned the blonde closer with a finger and then tapped her own lips.

Emma got the hint, stepping in and pressing a kiss to the brunette's crimson lips.

"Thank you, Emma." Regina was reluctant to pull away, keeping her mouth in close proximity to the blonde's for several moments after their kiss had already ended. "It actually works out perfectly. I was hoping to run a few things by Katherine and I prefer to do it in person."

Emma raised an eyebrow as she drew back. "Anything I'm allowed to know?"

Regina shrugged, but couldn't stop her grin. "Eventually... _if_ you're patient."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Momma!" The door to her office opened and Henry flew through.

Regina's entire face lit up and she stood with just enough time to crouch down as the little boy tore around her desk and flung his arms around her neck. She held him close, stroking her fingers through his hair. She'd missed him in the two days they'd been apart, more than she'd thought she would. Having Emma close at hand had been a distraction, but all morning, without Emma to divert her attention, her time without her son had come to the forefront of her mind. "Hey sweetheart. Momma missed you so much." She turned her head to press a kiss to his temple.

"I missed you Momma. Emma too."

She drew back just enough to gaze into his small face with a semi-stern expression. "Were you on your best behaviour for Mr and Mrs Nolan?"

Henry nodded. "Mr Nolan was playing his new favourite game when I got there, but he stopped because I was there and we played Mario."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "His new favourite game?"

Katherine, who had slipped into the office unnoticed and closed the door, cleared her throat. "Plants versus zombies." When she saw Regina's expression, she shrugged. "I honestly don't see the appeal, but apparently it's 'awesomely addictive'." Katherine rolled her eyes to show what she thought of her husband's explanation of why he was glued to the computer every free moment he had. At least she could be grateful that it hadn't affected his work.

A knock sounded at the door and Regina's secretary leaned his head in. "Sorry to interrupt Mayor Mills, but your lunch just arrived." He held up the take out bags.

Regina held out a hand and the young man scurried in, handing them over. "Thank you John." With his wide brown doe eyes and mahogany hair, her secretary would have made a formidable temptation, were he not insufferably timid and extremely gay. "Hold all non-emergent calls for the next hour. I am not to be disturbed unless the matter is of the utmost urgency. Understood?"

John batted his doe eyes and nodded an affirmative. He scurried back out just as quickly as he'd entered, closing the door without a sound.

Katherine took a step backwards, making to follow the secretary. "I'll leave you guys to your lunch." She looked at the little boy still clutched at his mother's leg, giving him a small wave. "See you tomorrow Henry."

He waved. "Bye Mrs Nolan."

Regina ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to go walk Mrs Nolan out, okay sweetheart? I'll be right back and then we can sit down and you can tell me all about your weekend. Sound good?"

Henry nodded, looking up into the brown eyes of his mother. "Okay Momma."

She smiled at him before walking around the desk and to the office door, holding it open and gesturing for the blonde to go through first. She looked over at her son, climbing up onto the couch, before she closed the door behind them.

She stopped at John's desk just to tell him to keep an eye on the door for a minute before she walked her best friend to the stairs and down.

"Something on your mind?" Katherine looked at her friend, concern evident on her features. Regina never walked her all the way out. Sometimes to the top of the stairs, sure, but never all the way out.

Regina bit her bottom lip, slightly nervous.

That was another red flag to her best friend, who knew that Regina slipped into and stayed firmly in mayor mode whenever she was within the walls of City Hall. She never let that mask slip and to see it now was slightly unnerving.

"I have been entertaining the idea of proposing to Miss Swan." The brunette felt as if a weight was released from her chest. It was out into the world now, no way to now make the consideration unheard. There was freedom in that. They stepped onto the ground floor.

Katherine's eyes comically bulged as her head whipped to regard her normally closed off best friend. "I... what... I... we are talking about _marriage_ here right?" She couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around the concept of Regina letting someone that far into her own life, and Henry's by extension. Emma Swan had totally changed the normally uptight woman's very existence.

Regina rolled her eyes, pushing open one of the red front doors of City Hall and stepping out into the white world outside. The sun reflected brightly off the accumulated snow on the ground. "No, we're talking about a business merger. Of course we're discussing matrimony." The tops of her cheeks were burning and she tried to mask the embarrassment as anger.

Katherine stared a long moment at the brunette. She'd known Regina long enough to know her tells. "You really want this." It wasn't a question but a genuine realisation.

Regina worried her top lip between her teeth before releasing a resigned sigh. "Yes, more than anything. All I can seem to think about is how I want to keep her forever."

"Does she even _want_ to be kept?" Katherine paused by her car, leaning back against the door with her arms crossed across her chest against the chill.

Regina sighed, for the first time in their conversation looking entirely uncertain. "That's the question, isn't it?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Knock knock." Emma peeked around the edge of the door and into the mayor's office.

Regina was sitting in her usual place behind her desk, Henry comfortably positioned on her lap. She had a protective arm wrapped around the little boy's waist, holding him firmly back against her torso. He wiggled out of the embrace, sliding off her lap and down to the floor to rush over and greet the blonde.

Emma smiled, ruffling his hair as he crashed into her legs, burying his face against a hip. "Hey kid, did you miss me?"

He nodded against the denim, not bothering to remove his face from her leg.

"He takes after his mother like that." At the brunette's words, Emma looked up as the older woman stood and made her way around the desk.

She offered her girlfriend a shy smile as her fingers stroked through Henry's hair. "Is that so?"

Regina stopped in front of the blonde, her hand absentmindedly going to rest on the back of Henry's neck. He tilted his head away from his denim hideaway to smile at her. She returned the smile before her free hand came up to rest on the blonde's opposing hip, uniting them.

"How was lunch? Did you two have fun?"

Regina gave a quick nod and smiled down at her son who was nodding in the affirmative. "Yes we did."

For a long moment in time, a pause pregnant with so many things unspoken, they watched each other. Emma was the first to back down, lifting the little boy up into her arms, resting him firmly on the hip he had just been buried against. "You ready to go home kid?"

He looked at Regina for a long moment, as if longing for her to come with them.

Regina, understanding her son's silent plea, brushed her fingers across a small cheek. "I'll be home soon, I promise. You go have fun with Emma, okay?"

Slowly he nodded, first to her, confirmation that he understood her words, and then to Emma in answer to her previous question. He leaned across the space to his mother, kissing her on the cheek. "Bye bye Momma."

Regina kissed his forehead. "I will see you at dinner. I love you."

"Love you Momma." He leaned back into Emma's embrace.

"I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home Mayor Mills." She walked over to the door, opening it. She gave Regina one last smile. "Love you Momma."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at the dials on the washing machine as if they were the keys on the skeleton organ in _The Goonies_ and to press the wrong botton would make the floor fall out from under her and send her hurtling to her doom. Breaking the washing machine and then having to explain that to Regina would result in dire consequences. Even the very thought of how pissed the mayor would be made falling to her death seem much more appealing.

She had made sure to keep like colours together, despite the fact that she'd never been that picky with her own clothes. She had a dark pile/light pile policy and it had served her well and saved her a substantial amount of quarters in her lifetime. But she could already imagine Regina's look of disdain if she saw her pair reds with blues, and she figured it was better to play things more safe than sorry.

She regarded the first dial that appeared to control the type of load. Delicate? No. Quick Wash? No. Whitest Whites? She glanced down at the mess of jeans and blue hued footies, mixed with blue shirts and underwear here and there. Definitely not. Sheets? Hardly. Bulky? It had possibilities; it was a heavy load after all. Normal? Well that seemed like the safe option. She clicked the dial over before looking at the smaller dials that regulated temperature, spin speed, soil level, and extra rinses. She just left them where they were, praying that was the right move. Since when did washers become so complicated. Couldn't it just have a start and stop button?

She had made sure to check the tags on each of the mayor's blouses for care instructions, separating them into piles for dry clean only, delicate wash, and those that could be washed with the regular clothes. The dry clean only blouses were on hangers on a drying bar next to the machines so that she could take them before work tomorrow.

As she checked the detergent levels, closed the lid, pressed start, and watched the machine hum to life, she was struck with how domestic she was becoming. It was slightly unnerving. She had never really seen herself as the housewife type; she'd never had the time nor the opportunity to really even explore her domestic side. But there was a part of her that liked making the mayoral mansion more of a home. In her own small way, she was establishing that she had a foothold in this place. And any insecurities, she stamped down with the excuse that she was trying to earn her rent here. The least she could do were a few chores when living here free of charge was the payout.

She patted the glass top of the washer, like she were giving it a pat on the back before exiting the wash room and making her way to the family room. Henry sat on the floor staring up at the screen with complete focus and awe as if he were looking up to a sign from the gods and not an advert for Canine Crunchies.

"Hey kid?"

His attention immediately snapped from the television screen to look up at the blonde.

"Want to help me make dinner for your mom?"

He nodded enthusiastically, his little hand wrapping around the remote next to him and turning the television off. He got up, set the remote on the end table, and padded over to her.

Scooping him up onto her hip, she turned and carried him from the room and downstairs to the kitchen.

Depositing the boy on the counter, she began rummaging around for ingredients and a pan to put the finished product in to cook.

As soon as she had everything assembled, she looked to the little boy fondly. "Okay kid, you get to help me put these enchiladas together. We need black beans for our base. Protein is always a must. What else should we put in them?"

Henry stared at the huge array of possible ingredients and pointed to something at the far side.

She followed where he was pointing and raised an eyebrow. She had just pulled the container out to get at something behind it in the fridge and forgotten to put it back in. "Pineapple?"

Henry nodded.

Emma shrugged and grabbed the container of fresh pineapple tidbits. "Why not? There's a first time for everything." She sprinkled the fruit into the open tortillas.

"What's an important question?"

Emma paused mid-reach for the cheese. "What?"

"What's an important question?" The little boy stared at her with curious eyes.

Emma thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I suppose it depends."

"On what?" Henry watched as she added the rest of the ingredients and folded up each of the enchiladas.

She shrugged. "On who's asking and who's being asked. When you ask someone a certain question, it might be more important to them than it would be to someone else." She poured the sauce over the top of the dish. "Why do you ask?" She opened the oven and slid dinner inside.

Henry shrugged. "When Miss Nolan dropped me off today, Momma and her went outside to talk. When I asked her what they were talking about she said it was about an important question she had to ask you."

Emma froze as she was closing the oven door. It slammed closed with a snap, but she took no notice of the sound. An important question for her? "Did she say what she needed to ask me?"

Henry shook his head and held out his arms to her so she could lower him to the floor.

She set him down before putting everything away. Regina had to ask her an important question, something that she hadn't shared with Henry but she had with Katherine. That implied that it was too mature to share with a five year old. If Emma allowed herself to have fits of fancy, she might actually let herself believe that Regina was considering marriage. But that was ridiculous. They hadn't even been dating for that long and the brunette was a practical woman. They hadn't even discussed the future beyond the six month mark. Emma didn't even know if she would be around after the six month mark. Everything she did here in Storybrooke, everything she had agreed to, had been built upon a half year expiration date. No, this had to be a different question. It had to be.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The first thing Regina noticed when she came in the front door was the smell of something delicious wafting out of the kitchen. She heard the faint thrum of music coming from upstairs, though she couldn't catch the exact beat. "Emma? Henry?" She got no answer. She removed her coat and put it away before heading for the stairs.

Her hand slid over the polished wood of the banister as she made her steady ascent, the music growing louder with every upward step. She reached the second landing and saw light spilling from a crack in the family room door. She walked over and pushed the door further open.

Henry stood on the couch, his just brushed hair wet from a bath, in only his Avengers underwear and a pair of socks. He was flailing his arms around as he danced. Emma herself was in a pair of red sleep shorts and a thin loose white v-neck tee. Her own blonde curls had been pulled up in a messy bun and she was singing into the small brush that she had just used to brush Henry's hair. Her own dancing was similar to the little boy's, involving a lot of hopping and wiggling around like a possessed person.

She felt the corners of her mouth begin to curve upward and she took her bottom lip between her teeth to prevent the full fledged grin from taking root.

"I'm in love, I'm in love, accidentally." Emma sang into the brush.

Regina had to admit that the blonde's voice was actually quite pleasant.

"Come on, come on, spin a little tighter. Come on, come on, and the world's a little brighter. Come on, come on, just get yourself inside her..." Emma trailed off as a bounce brought her to face the brunette.

Regina smirked, a sculpted eyebrow raising. "Get yourself _where_, Miss Swan?"

A blush coloured the blonde's neck as she realised how that lyric could come across when the word love was omitted. Luckily she was saved by the little boy on the couch.

"Momma! You're home."

She pushed into the room and moved over to the couch. Henry launched himself off and into the mayor's arms, hugging her fiercely. She chuckled as his still damp hair brushed against her cheek, leaving a wet streak in its wake. "Hey baby boy."

Emma moved to her Iphone where it was playing from the dock, and turned the music off. "I should go check on the enchiladas." She squeezed Regina's shoulder as she passed by on her way out of the room.

"I helped with dinner Momma." Henry leaned back in the embrace so he could relay this, obviously very important, information to her.

Regina indulged his pride. "You did? Well then I'm sure it's going to be amazing." She looked out of the open doorway and stared after the blonde. Something seemed off with the younger woman. It wasn't like Emma to not even offer up a smile when she got home. She glanced back at her son. "How about you help me set the table?"

Henry nodded as she set him down and he was off like a rocket, hurrying away like a normal five year old would. He really had gained so much from Emma's presence, as had she. She sighed and followed him, flipping off the light and closing the door.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma shuffled back into the kitchen. "The kid is down for the count." She walked over to the brunette at the sink. "Need any help?"

Regina handed over the drying cloth and a dripping just-washed plate.

Emma accepted the cloth and then the plate. "So, did you have that discussion with Katherine that you wanted to?" She tried to keep her voice nonchalant and neutral. She didn't want to tip Regina off that she was truly interested in what they had discussed, knowing the brunette was more likely to tell her if she thought Emma didn't care one way or the other.

Regina wasn't fooled for a second. She heard the curiosity in her tone that the blonde was trying to mask. "I did."

"And?"

Regina smirked and handed her another plate. "And what?"

"You're really going to make me beg, aren't you?" Emma set the plate back in the cabinet, standing on her tiptoes to set it on top of the neat stack.

Regina took the opportunity to step away from the sink and press her body against the blonde's back, leaning up towards her ear. "You know I love it when you beg."

Emma contained a moan as she fell back down to her heels. Her mutinous body leaned back against the one behind it. She cursed her body's immediate reactions whenever the brunette was in close proximity. The older woman had the ability to wreak havoc on her senses. It made getting information that much harder.

The brunette wrapped her arms around Emma's waist, licking the shell of her ear.

"You're trying to distract me." Emma bit her bottom lip, biting back another moan.

Regina chuckled in her ear, nipping at the lobe. "Is that what I'm trying to do dear? And here I thought I was trying to make you feel good." She snaked one of the hands around her waist down over her stomach and cupped her through the thin sleep shorts.

Emma rested her hands on the counter to support herself as her knees shook. She gave a quick shake of her head to clear it. "We have to finish washing dishes."

"I don't know Emma. I'm feeling rather peckish. I think I could use something more to eat." Regina rubbed her hand over the blonde's clothed sex to make her point.

Emma's eyes fluttered. Her fingers gripped harder on the edge of the counter, her knuckles going white with the tight grip. She took a deep breath to tamp down her desire. "Well I'd be happy to let you have dessert." Her legs spread slightly to give the brunette more room as she ground down slightly on the hand between her legs to emphasize her point. "After we finish the dishes."

Regina smiled, placing a soft kiss against the back of the blonde's neck, giving her one more rub through her shorts before withdrawing her hand. "Yes dear."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews anyone?


	30. The Impact Leaves You Breathless

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: just an update for you all. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 30: The Impact Leaves You Breathless**

"I don't want you to go." Long fingers stroked through the finely trimmed hair at the apex of the blonde's thighs, grazing the skin gently with manicured nails. Regina was sitting upright with her back against the headboard, Emma in her lap, reclining back against her as they both procrastinated about getting up to get ready for work, pushing their responsibilities back until the last moment.

Emma bit her lip, her eyes narrowly riveted on the hand that was just a few short inches above her heat. There was little doubt that her girlfriend was trying to tempt her to get her way. "You're playing dirty."

The hand stilled as Regina chuckled. "Oh darling, I haven't even _begun_ to get dirty." She growled into the blonde's ear, nipping at the lobe, though her hand remained stationary.

Emma was glad for that, knowing that if it continued lower, she'd lose her resolve to a sex hazed mind. She grabbed the stalled hand and brought it up her abdomen to get it a safe distance away, using the excuse of kissing the older woman's knuckles to hide how close she was to giving in, the effect this woman's touch has on her. She slid off Regina's lap, crawling to the edge of the bed and getting up. She stretched in the early morning light from the window.

The brunette watched the play of golden light across the curves of the young woman's flesh. Her tousled blonde waves fell down over her shoulders, the ends just dusting the hard rosy peaks of her chest. She slid down on the bed and turned on her side, resting up on her elbow so she could better admire her girlfriend in the sunlight.

Emma felt the brown gaze upon her but she didn't acknowledge the scrutiny. She merely padded over to the spot on the floor where the sleep shorts and white tee had been discarded the previous night, picking them up. She pulled on the shorts and tossed the shirt over one shoulder, moving to the en suite. She brushed her teeth quickly, contemplating her reflection.

It was amazing how comfortable she'd become here in the short time she'd been in Storybrooke. She never walked around with her shirt off when other people were present; she never walked around other people's houses as if she owned the place. This was Regina's space, but a part of her felt as if this were her space too. She rinsed and gave herself one last look before going back into the main bedroom.

Regina was now sitting up on the edge of the bed, her bottom lip jutted outward in a pout. It was the same pout she'd had earlier when they'd first woken up and Emma had reminded her that she had lunch with Mary Margaret today, as well as every Tuesday from now on. The mayor was less than thrilled with the schoolteacher's intrusion into her life. She had made it a priority to have as little contact with the woman as she possibly could. Being the mayor sometimes made that unavoidable, but she had managed to keep her dealings with Mary Margaret Blanchard strictly professional and extremely rare. Now however, the woman had bonded with her girlfriend. She would be lying if she didn't say she feared this might happen. It was just an unfortunate circumstance that the only available place for Emma to go had been the spare room at the schoolteacher's flat. If she'd have had any other options on such short notice, she certainly would have taken them. But it had been her plan from the very start to get Emma Swan living with her and Henry, and she had hoped to do so before the roommates became friends. She had thought it a safe bet considering how closed off Emma was with people she didn't trust. Just her luck that the one exception to her girlfriend's rule would be her worst enemy.

"You don't have to go." She despised how much she sounded like a petulant child.

Emma sighed as if she were explaining something for the millionth time to someone who just wasn't catching on. "You always say that." She padded on bare feet across the room, stopping before the brunette sitting on the side of the bed. She ran her thumb over the pouting lip before leaning down and kissing the older woman.

Regina pulled back slightly from the kiss. "And I am going to keep saying it."

Emma rolled her eyes and straightened up. "You were that kid in kindergarten who never learned how to share, weren't you?"

"Quite the contrary dear." Regina's fingers hooked through the top band of the blonde's shorts, pulling her forward to stand between her legs. She leaned forward and kissed the scar just partway visible over the top of the red fabric. "I did learn how to share, I just prefer not to." Especially not with the likes of Mary Margaret Blanchard, though she left that part unsaid, knowing Emma wouldn't much appreciate it.

"How about if I make it up to you?" Emma stroked her fingers through the brunette locks, an indulgent smile on her face. Sometimes she found that she had to handle mother in a similar fashion to how she handled son.

Regina tilted her face upward, looking up the lean torso to regard the blonde with an expectant look on her face. "I'm listening."

Emma used the tip of a finger to push a wayward strand of hair from the older woman's forehead. "Tomorrow, I'll ask Graham to let me go at noon and then I will treat you and the little man to lunch at Granny's, just the three of us."

Regina continued to pout for several moments before she nodded in acquiescence. "Very well."

Emma smiled, leaning back down to capture full lips once more. She had a feeling they would have to go through a similar compromise every week. Sometimes she would have to offer to cook something special for dinner or have a movie night, but she always would have to offer a compromise. She knew that Regina disliked her relationship with the schoolteacher as much as Mary Margaret now seemed suspicious of her relationship with Regina.

Regina's hands wrapped around the back of the blonde's knees and slid up the backs of bare thighs to rest on her ass.

Emma smiled into the kiss. If she didn't stop this and finish getting ready they would both be late to work. But she couldn't seem to drag herself from the lush addictiveness of the brunette's mouth.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina adjusted her already perfect hair into place as she came down the last few stairs. They were already behind schedule thanks to their impromptu make out session while the blonde was getting ready. She was just fortunate that Emma had managed to stop her before they took it farther than kissing and petting.

Emma was already standing by the door, holding Regina's coat open for her. Henry was beside her, clutching Regina's purse in his small hands.

The brunette rushed forward, turning her back to the blonde so she could slip her arms into the sleeves. She took the purse, slipping it over her shoulder and then put her hands under the little boy's arms, lifting him onto her opposite hip. "Alright, I'll drop Henry off at Katherine's. She said she's free all day, so no need to rush your lunch. Just pick him up from the Nolan's when you've finished."

Emma nodded as she opened the front door and held it wide so the Mills duo could exit. She turned and locked door behind them. She turned on the porch to see the woman and her son regarding her. She leaned in and placed a kiss on the little boy's nose. He giggled and wiped it away with a mitten covered hand. She turned her attention to his mother. "Will you be home for dinner?"

The brunette nodded. Time was ticking down, but she didn't want to leave.

Emma smiled, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I will see you for dinner then." She looked to Henry. "Be good kid. Love you."

"Love you Emma." Henry grinned.

Emma set off down the walkway as she did every weekday morning, heading towards the run down rickety yellow bug on the front curb.

Regina watched her for a long moment, wanting to call out, to tell her she loved her. But it seemed redundant to say the same thing she said every morning. So she let her go. She'd see her at dinner.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Just her luck. No calls all morning. Just as with most days since she'd started as deputy at the Storybrooke Sheriff's Department, it had been a slow one. She'd been so convinced that she'd get out on time, even early. And then the phone had rang.

Graham had leaned in the doorway between the main room and his small office, his arms crossed over his grey sweater vest. "Do you mind taking one last call before you head out? I'd deal with it but Mayor Mills needed the February budget proposals last Friday."

Emma had cringed. Normally, Regina didn't bring her business home if she could avoid it, but the blonde herself had been reminded to remind Graham that the reports had been due on Friday and here it was the following Tuesday.

Seeing her hesitation, he had gone in for the kill. "It'll be quick. I just need you to go drive out to the old toll bridge. I got a report of a disturbance out there. It's probably nothing, but I'll hear about it if no one at least shows to check it out."

She had sighed. "Fine. It's only a ten minute drive. I can be there and back before my lunch at one thirty." It wasn't like they ever really got any exciting calls. This was actually one of the most suspicious since she'd become deputy. It was worth being there to check out, even if it just ended up being some wild hares hopping around or something. And she hadn't really had much opportunity to go into the woods around town yet. She'd done a few patrols with Graham out there but they'd never gotten out and actually walked around. It would be nice to get outside and away from town, even for just a few moments. She had pointed a finger accusingly at him. "But you better finish those budget reports today Graham. If I have to hear any complaints over dinner tonight so help me..." She had left the threat open ended, tucked her badge on her belt. She tucked her sidearm into its holster. She was sure she wouldn't need it, but her time in the bounty hunting profession had made her cautious to travel to any area she didn't know well without protection. "I'm taking the second cruiser. I'll bring it back before I go meet Mary Margaret." With a quick snatching of the keys off her desk, she had been gone.

And that's what had led her out here, to Peppermint Creek Trail, in the frigid January air. It was unseasonably cold for the fifteenth of January, even by Maine standards, but she was already growing accustomed to the snowy days. She liked that Storybrooke still looked like a scene from a picturesque postcard, with snow still piled over the ground and across rooftops. At least the new snowfalls had died down enough that the streets no longer had to be plowed; the snow that blanketed them wasn't thick enough to warrant it. Out here however, in the woods, plows wouldn't even do much good. The canopy of pine overhead kept the worst of the snow from piling up, but there were scattered heavy drifts. She navigated the cruiser around each of them as best she could.

The road was unpaved and the dirt beneath the snow had long gone muddy, making the going tough, but she was less than half a mile from the toll bridge now. She'd just get there, do her due diligence as deputy and take a look around before getting back in the car. The drive back should be easier; she would just follow the path her tires had already cut through the slush and...

A big bang shook the car and she started to swerve. She hit the breaks a little harder than necessary and the car slid across the ice for a long moment before cooperating and rolling to a stop off to the side of the trail.

"Shit!" She slammed her gloved hands on the steering wheel. "Dammit!" She pushed the door open and stepped out, slamming it closed. Her boots crunched on the ice as she walked around the car, looking for whatever she had hit. Her answer came when she headed around the back of the car to the right side. The right rear tire was blown. "Great! Just great!" She kicked the offending tire in anger. Of course it wouldn't be as simple as a short drive. The one day she had plans and she had to go and get a flat tire in the middle of the woods, with a good four mile hike back to civilization.

She went to the trunk and opened it, sighing with relief when she saw a spare tire sitting in the back of the trunk. She was lucky she was the first deputy and until she came around, no one had seen fit to drive the spare cruiser; there had never been any need for it. She looked at the blown tire. This would take a while. She should call Mary Margaret and let her know she'd be late to lunch, and then call Graham and tell him about the cruiser. They'd need to get a new spare once she put this one on.

She pulled her cell from her pocket and unlocked it. She'd scrolled through her contacts to Mary Margaret's name before she noticed that there were no bars. Just perfect. Flat tire, in the middle of the woods (woods she didn't know at that), in temperatures that were below freezing, and now with no cell reception. God hated her, there was no other way around it.

She slid the useless phone back into her pocket and grabbed the tire, hauling it out and tossing it into the snow next to the blown tire. She grabbed the tire iron and set to work, plunking down in the snow.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Her ass was frozen through the denim of her jeans, now wet from her body heat melting the snow. She stood and brushed some of the ice off, lifting the ruined tire and tossing it into the trunk. Wouldn't want to break any litter laws. She was just about to move back down to put on the spare when she saw it, a flash of movement through the trees.

Black was moving there among the backdrop of white and green. She couldn't see a distinct shape, just a black blur.

She glanced down at the spare tire, laying there with the nuts and bolts aranged on top. She grabbed the smaller parts that would get lost in the snow and set them in the trunk, closing it. She leaned the spare against the wheel well and grabbed her gloves from the pocket of her coat. She'd removed them to change the tire. The toll bridge must be right around here. She slipped the gloves on, patting her side to check that her sidearm was in its holster.

She looked around, checking the environment before she cut a line through the trees, going to investigate the blur. Fifty yards through the trees she emerged onto a different trail, the wide road that traveled across the old toll bridge.

The only possible source of the blur was several feet away, parked along the side of the dirt road. A black and chrome motorcycle was left there unattended.

She looked both directions down the road. To the right, back off into the woods, the dirt access road stretched away, one lonely track to indicate the path the bike's tires had carved through the snow. To the left, beyond the bike, the road curved. She could see natural sunlight coming from around the curve, where she knew the road opened up, the trees breaking away from the road for the small river and the toll bridge that passed over it.

Well it seemed that's where the owner of the bike would have gone. She sighed and headed off in that direction, walking towards the bike, putting her hand on the metal when she was close enough to do so. The metal under her hand was still warm, the driver hadn't been away from the bike for long. She gave it one more cursory glance before continuing down the road towards the bridge.

She rounded the bend and the woods opened up around her, the road itself extending out and over the bridge. Rocky slopes on either side led down to the burbling half-frozen water. With the ice and snow covering their stony surface, the slopes looked treacherous. The wide bridge itself, with its crumbling guardrails looked just as old as its name would suggest. She saw the sign with the spraypainted R between to T and the O on toll and rolled her eyes. The things teenagers did to amuse themselves were ridiculous.

The bridge extended to the other side, empty. Whoever had rode in on that bike wasn't here.

She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hello? Anyone here?" She waited long moments but the only response was the slow babbling of the half-frozen water.

Sighing, she continued out onto the bridge. She moved to the middle and placed her hands on the rail, looking out and down at the water, where it curved gently back and forth until disappearing around another bend. She leaned a little weight on the rail and it tipped outward slightly. She backed away from the rotted wood and turned.

And came abruptly face to face with a hooded figure. Jumping back, she lost her footing and tumbled back against the rail. She heard the wood give a sickening crack and give way. It toppled away, taking her after it. Nothing but empty air was at her back. Her arms flailed uselessly outward for something to grab onto, but there was nothing but more rotten wood that crumbled under her fingertips.

The hooded figure reached for her and the last thing she saw was light blue eyes before she fell into thin air. She watched the bridge recede above her as she fell, the figure in the black hood leaning out over the edge, one hand still reaching out to her, as if still able to catch her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

As her back slammed against the water, the breath shot out from her lungs. Her head snapped to the side, something hard smacking against her forehead just above her temple, right at her hairline. She couldn't feel the cold at first, there was only the shock and breathlessness of the impact. Then, the cold came as her clothes started to absorb the icy water. She wanted to move, to struggle, to breathe, but she couldn't. She was frozen, figuratively and literally.

The hooded stranger disappeared from the edge of the bridge. She wasn't aware of how much time passed as she stared at the spot where he had been, torn between calling out for his help or trying to get away. He hadn't exactly pushed her but he had snuck up on her. She'd barely had time to see his face. If she survived this, she wouldn't be able to offer up much of a description.

But then he was there, crouching over her. He pushed his hood back as he crouched into the water and picked her up under her shoulders, dragging her backward out of the freezing liquid until there was nothing under her back but the cold stones of the shore.

She looked up at him. He was brunette, a scruffy beard, dressed head to toe in black. He seemed familiar somehow, not from Storybrooke, but from before that. She'd seen him somewhere before. She knew she'd seen those blue eyes before. "I..."

"Don't try and speak, you don't know what's going on internally." He looked around, glancing up the slopes to the road. "Did you drive here? Just blink once for yes, two for no."

She blinked once.

"Are you parked far away?"

She blinked twice.

He released a long breath of relief. "Okay, we'll just get you to the car and I'll get you help." He stood, looking at the slope before him, sizing it up. Finally he looked back at her. "I'll have to carry you up to the road. It might hurt, but it needs to be done, okay?"

She blinked once.

He bent down and scooped her up into a bridal style carry. It hurt and she cried out, causing him to freeze. "You good to continue?"

She grimaced in pain but blinked once. They had to get out of here. The cold was going beyond her clothes, seeping into her skin and seeming to wrap around her bones. She just wanted to sleep. She could feel something sticky on the side of her face and saw red out of the corner of her eye and knew she was bleeding, though she couldn't tell from where. Her eyes were starting to feel heavy.

Moving up the slope was slow going. The stranger picked his way carefully, placing his feet between the icy rocks when he could. To his credit, he never stumbled once, and his main priority seemed to be handling her with delicate care.

They emerged on the road and he carried her back around the bend. His bike was the only thing there. He looked around. "Where's your car?"

It took a moment but she managed to point through the trees in the direction of the cruiser.

He glanced back at his bike and then set off through the trees in the direction she pointed.

For a long moment there was no sound in Emma's ears except the loud crunching of the man's heavy boots through the trees. It was only aiding the slide into unconsciousness. Her eyes fell closed. A jostle as the man stepped onto Peppermint Creek Trail woke her up. She looked at the cruiser.

"Do you have keys?"

"Tire." Her voice sounded thick to her own ears and her side was really beginning to hurt.

The stranger saw the spare tire leaning against the car. "So that's why you were out here? You were on patrol and you got a flat?" He didn't wait for her to answer as his eyes seemed to take in the badge on her belt for the first time. He hesitated for a second before rushing over to the passenger side of the car. He set her down into a sitting position, resting her back against the car. "Are your keys in your pocket?"

She blinked once.

He leaned down and patted her pockets, pulling out the keys from her right front pocket. He unlocked the passenger door and lifted her back up and into the seat. "I'll get the tire on and I'll get you to a hospital, okay?"

She managed a nod. He disappeared and she heard him unlock the trunk. She focused on road ahead, watching little bits of snow dancing in the sunlight filtering through the trees. She was scared to know how bad it was. She could feel the blood on her face, but she didn't know if she was still bleeding. It hurt to breathe now, her respirations were coming shallower. She could see her breath puff from between her lips. The cold had given way to numbness; she wasn't sure whether she truly couldn't feel it or if her body was giving out. She didn't want to die here, in the woods, alone. _Regina_. She wanted Regina. But no, she didn't want the brunette to see her like this. The woman had been through so much with Henry; she'd been in hospitals far too much, seen too many bad things. She deserved more than that.

The driver's door opened. The stranger slid into the driver's seat. "Tire's on. I'll get you to the hospital, I promise."

Emma had no reason to, but she believed him. She went to blink once in agreement, but her eyes never managed to reopen.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Princess Emma awoke in pain. She clutched at her chest and stomach, thrashing on the bed.

The Queen was over her in a second, putting cool hands to the hot flesh of cheeks, trying to get her to focus on brown eyes. "My love?" When she got no response, she began to hum softly, stroking the cheek, calling her back to her in the only other way she could think of.

Eventually the pain receded and Emma was able to focus on the woman above her. "My Queen." Her body relaxed as she fell back to the mattress beneath her.

"You are in pain. I wish you would let the spell casters heal you, let **me** heal you. You are cursed somehow. This is not something that your ridiculous sires can have healed with herbs and silly prayers. Please my love, let me try." Regina pressed a kiss to the younger woman's forehead.

"Fine." They'd been having this argument for the three days since the ball. She was trying to prove to her mother and father that Regina was not the dark woman, consumed by magic, that they thought she was. Her parents were wary of magic and its consequences. She'd been trying to avoid involving magic to appease them. But maybe there was a way to compromise. "Have my parents summon the Blue Fairy."

The Queen looked as if the younger woman had just insulted her with the very suggestion. "I will not! That... _thing_ will not be allowed in my castle."

Emma sighed, looking apologetic. "Then the healers must needs suffice. If the spell casters are chosen by your own hand or if you must take it upon yourself to magically search my body for the cause of this, they will have cause to claim it was you who cursed me in the first place. This is exactly as it was when I was a child. We both know that you rescued me that day, but they twisted it to suit their needs. They saw who you were and they targeted you for it. They **exiled** you! I will not have them find cause to execute you! Not for my sake." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in her chest. "They have cause to trust the fairies. They seek the Blue Fairy's counsel quite often; they trust her judgment. If you let her see to me, it will give you what information you require while leaving no room for them to throw out accusations. Trust me, please. She will not harm me."

The Queen's jaw went rigid and she looked up to the ceiling, contemplating the words of the Princess. Finally she brought her gaze back down and her eyes were softer. "Very well. We shall summon the Blue Fairy. But I will be present at all of her examinations. If I find her inspection in any way suspicious, I will complete the examination myself, consequences be damned."

The Princess smiled up at the Queen. "Thank you." She raised a pale hand and rested it on the tan cheek of the older royal. The contrast between their skin tones had never been so prominent; she was growing more pale, weaker with each passing day. Time was not on her side and she'd never admit it to the woman gazing down at her fondly, but she did not think that even the Blue Fairy could save her. She felt the curse... whatever was in her, she felt it. And it was **alive**.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina glanced at the clock again. 4:12. By now Emma's lunch would be over and she'd have picked up Henry from Katherine's and taken him home. She looked at the phone, contemplating calling her. She had no pressing reason to do so, but she'd felt a sinking feeling all morning, ever since her missed _'I love you'_. She balked at the very idea, but she had to admit that she'd grown accustomed to uttering those words every morning and hearing them said back. It was routine, a small tradition they had begun, and one she wasn't fond of missing.

The phone rang startling her out of her thoughts. She saw the blinking light that signaled John had picked it up in the front office. For several long moments there was nothing, then a knock came to her door. She looked up at her secretary peeked his head in. "I have Ms. Blanchard on line one. She said it's about Deputy Swan. Should I tell her you'll call her back?"

Regina felt her heart stutter at the sound of Emma's name. "No, I'll take it. Thank you." She waited until the door to her office shut before picking up the phone and pressing the small button for line one. "Mayor Mills."

"Hello Mayor Mills. It's Mary Margaret. I was just wondering if Emma told you anything about rescheduling our lunch plans for today and maybe she just forgot to tell me? I've tried her cell but it must be off, and when I called the station, no one answered. I'm a little worried. This really isn't like her."

She had to admit that the woman was right. It wasn't like Emma to not at least call. "Thank you, Miss Blanchard, for calling. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. I will call her myself and have her give you a call. I'm sure it just slipped her mind. Good day." She hung up before the schoolteacher could respond, partly because she wasn't interested in what she had to say, and partly because she didn't want to let the other woman hear the worry in her voice.

She pressed for the dial tone and then dialed Emma's cell. It went straight to voicemail. So it was either off or dead. She bit her lip, pressing for the tone again and dialing the house. It rang until the machine picked up. She tried the station next to the same result. What was going on? Where was she?

She tried Katherine next.

"Hello?"

Regina sighed at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Thank God someone's answering. Has Emma been by to pick up Henry yet?"

"No, Henry's still here." For a moment Katherine seemed about to ask why, and then the reason for the question seemed to come to her. "I thought she was having lunch with Mary Margaret?"

"She was supposed to but Miss Blanchard just called and said she never showed."

"Have you tried the station?"

Regina bit her bottom lip. "Yes. I should try again though. If she stops by to pick up Henry, tell her to call me please."

"I will. I'm sure everything is fine Regina; she probably just got held up at work and forgot to call. Everything's fine."

As Regina hung up with Katherine, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, despite Katherine's reassurances that Emma must have gotten held up at the station. Regina knew the likelihood of that was slim. Nothing of criminal note ever happened in Storybrooke; it was the reason they'd never had need of a deputy before. Graham could handle whatever came his way reasonably well on his own. He was capable at what he did.

She picked up the receiver and dialed the Sheriff's station again. It rang and rang, eventually going to the answering service. The feeling in her stomach only got worse. Where was everybody?

She set the receiver back in its cradle and stared at it. Who would know where Emma is? She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear the phone ring until John was once again knocking on her door.

"Mayor Mills, the sheriff is on the line. He says it's urgent."

This time she didn't even wait for John to leave before she was picking up the line. "Sheriff?"

There was a long pause and when Graham finally spoke, his voice was strained. "I should have called sooner. I... I shouldn't have sent her out there by herself."

Regina felt the panic start setting in. "What are you talking about?"

"They called me since she was on the clock when it happened."

"Graham! Tell me what you are talking about!" Her patience was quickly running out.

"I'm at the hospital. It's Emma."

She didn't wait to hear anything else. She slammed the phone down and grabbed her purse, rushing for the door.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: plot progression and angst. just what you all need after the finale right? review please. next chapter coming soon.


	31. Saved By A Stranger

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: the most common question I seem to be getting here is regarding the dreams and what they mean. The dreams do have a purpose. I swear. And it will be revealed soon enough; everything in its time. And to those of you who've inquired about Dreamscape it will be updated hopefully within the week if timing works out. Enjoy!

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 31: Saved By A Stranger**

"Regina!" The Princess sat up, sweat covering her brow. The night vision had rocked her down to the very core of her soul, scaring her far worse than the reality of the situation. Every time she had closed her eyes since the curse befell her, she had seen them, flashes of what awaited her. She had refrained from telling the Queen, knowing it would only cause the other royal more worry over something neither of them could change.

"I'm here." The Queen was beside her then, trying to ease her back down against the mattress. "Shh, my love. I am with you."

Emma resisted the gentle push of the older woman.

The Queen shook her head, her insistent hands finally encouraging the blonde royal back down. "Princess, we have sent outriders to send word to the Blue Fairy. She will not be long in coming."

The Princess nodded. "Do you know what my very first thought of you was?"

The Queen, her hair teased up into one of her many creative hairstyles, her body encased in a deep purple gown with a full skirt, shook her head, her eyes soft, hanging on the blonde's every word as if it would be her last. Maybe that's what the woman feared.

"I saw your face, hovering there above mine, whispering words I'd never heard before in my four winters. You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." She smiled. "You still are."

The Queen leaned down and pressed her lips to a feverish forehead.

"Since my birth, my mother had been telling me stories of these creatures that dwell between this life and the next. They are extraordinarily beautiful. They come to people as they expire and they walk their souls into the next life, so they never have to feel alone. I thought you were there so I wouldn't be alone when I died." A single tear broke free from the lip of her lower lid and trailed in an arched path across her cheek. "Your presence was a comfort to me, then as it is now. And that comfort will be what carries me into what comes next. So you see, you **are** one of those creatures, to me. My angel."

The double doors to the bed chamber were opened and Regina stepped between the blonde princess on the bed and the group entering through the chamber doors.

Emma reached out her hand and weakly grasped the Queen's. She offered the older woman a smile when brown eyes glanced down at her. Then both their attention moved back to the two royals sweeping into the room.

Snow White walked shoulder to shoulder with her husband, dressed in a sweeping full skirted gown of lavender. Her hair was done up with romantically curled tendrils, white flowers decorating the curls of black. Her crown- the woman had refused to remove it while in Regina's kingdom- rested neatly around the beehive of floral decorated hair. Prince Charming for his part, wore mostly brown riding leathers, paired with a beige velvet doublet, the sigil of his kingdom emblazoned on the right breast. He had chosen to remove and lock up his crown while not entertaining guests, however the swordbelt and ornate hilt emerging up from the scabbard at his waist, proved he was no more trusting of the Dark Queen than his wife was.

Behind them came a figure in a hooded brown roughspun cloak, looking the part of village peasant. Pale hands were the only skin visible, clasped together in front of the figure as it walked.

The Queen rolled her eyes. "What, no grand sparkly entrance for the leader of the fairies? Imagine my disappointment; I expected a show."

Emma cleared her throat and once she caught the brunette's attention, she gave her a look that said '_behave_'.

The hooded figure, raised pale hands to the hood of the cloak and pushed it back, revealing tight brown curls and a cherubic face. She turned her bright eyes on the blonde on the bed, a pinching of the sides of her lips the only sign of her dismay. "Princess, you should have called for me sooner." She unclasped the cloak, revealing a blue dress, also of a style common to the villages.

"Why the lack of pageantry?" This time, the Queen's voice held only curiosity and not the venom it had previously been infused with.

Snow's lips fell into a hard line and she opened her mouth to speak, but the Blue Fairy placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're people have adopted the values of your House, Queen Regina. The bad blood that runs between you and Queen Snow goes back very far, and in those years it has infected almost all that it has touched, including the people. They also choose a side. Fairies are not welcome here in your lands."

Regina raised her chin regally. She knew that if things were ever going to change, if she was ever going to enact Emma's dream of a future free of the blood feud, it must begin with changing herself. Through her actions, she could change the opinions of her people too. They already loved Emma, despite her lineage. But she still meant to maintain her pride. "If you can save her, we can discuss a truce between your kind and mine, if that is your wish."

The Blue Fairy inclined her head. "If it is within my power, I will heal the Princess. Then we may discuss this truce, and a possible end to the hate."

The Queen's gaze turned to the two royals. "You may leave now."

Snow's mouth dropped open at the audacity of the younger queen. "How dare you even suggest such a thing? That is our _daughter_!"

The Queen was about to speak, when the Blue Fairy held up a hand to silence them both. "I will work better the less distraction I have. Queen Regina's presence is a condition of my being allowed to inspect the Princess. I'm sorry my Queen, but yours is not. I will do all I can for her; you have my word."

For a long moment, it was as if they would object, but then James put his hand on Snow's shoulder. "Let us go. She is in capable hands." His eyes were on Regina as he spoke, though Snow assumed he referred to the Blue Fairy.

Snow's green eyes regarded the younger Queen. "If she dies, your life is forfeit."

Queen Regina gave the woman a hard look. "You needn't worry; if she dies, I do not wish to exist any longer. If she must go with Death, so too shall I."

Snow gave a sharp nod and the two royals took their leave.

The Queen looked at the guards by the open chamber doors. "No one is allowed entrance to this chamber without my leave. Is that understood?"

The guards together gave one swift nod.

An elegant tan hand gave a wave and the chamber doors closed and barred themselves. She turned to look at the Princess, who hadn't released her hand through the whole discussion. "Let's find this curse, shall we?"

/-/

Queen Regina sighed as she watched the blue energy traveling down from the fairy's hands and into the Princess. The process had been going on for the better part of the hour and nothing had come of it. Just when the look on the dark woman's face said she couldn't take the silence anymore, the Blue Fairy rose.

"Whoever poisoned her, it has infected her system quite thoroughly."

Emma looked up into the knowing face of the Blue Fairy. "It can't be stopped, can it?" The tired tone of her voice was an easy tell that she'd already accepted this fact, that she'd only been continuing this charade for the Queen's benefit.

"I can pull the poison from your system. Then it would just be a matter of healing what damage we can and removing what we cannot; some parts of you have already succumbed..." The Blue Fairy's eyes bored into those of the Princess. "However, there is that part of you I cannot touch; I think you are aware of that which I speak. I cannot remove the poison from _that_ part of you. I can imbue you with preventative spells to keep you from reinfection, but it may only delay the inevitable."

Emma nodded. "I know."

"Know what?" Brown eyes stared accusingly between the two. Queen Regina had never been fond of information being withheld from her, especially in circumstances as dire as this.

The Princess ignored the probing gaze of her love. "How will it be affected?"

"By healing you? It won't." The Blue Fairy frowned. "But you need to consider the consequences of keeping it."

"Keeping what? What is this?" Queen Regina came to the opposite bedside, demanding the attention of the Princess by crawling onto the bed beside her, sitting with her full skirts curled around her as she looked down at her lover. "Tell me."

Emma sighed, her head turning to regard the brown eyes of her love. "Our child."

The Blue Fairy cleared her throat. "I can heal the Princess, but I cannot heal the child until its birth."

The Queen heard the fairy's words but didn't acknowledge them. Her eyes were focused on the flat stomach of the Princess. "Our _child_?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina had spent so many hours in Storybrooke's hospital that she could close her eyes and see the place in vivid detail behind her eyelids. She knew every hall, every room, every twist and turn of the place. She headed straight for the emergency department. That's where they would have taken her first. Even if she was no longer there, they would have needed to triage her and assess the damage.

Her chest wrenched painfully at the possibilities flitting through her mind. She'd hung up on Graham before he could give her any information. She knew that whatever had happened to Emma, it had been on a call and she'd been sent out alone. He had used the phrase 'out there' which implied that she had been in the woods that skirted three of the four sides of Storybrooke. And, more important than anything else, Emma was hurt. That was all she'd been able to draw from their brief phone call. But it was enough. Emma was hurt and she'd tear this place apart until she knew what happened and why.

She rounded the corner into the reception area of the emergency department. She went straight to the desk, regarding the nurse behind it with steely eyes. "Deputy Swan." She needn't say more than those two words; the woman started searching the patient files.

"Mayor Mills."

She turned to see Graham jogging towards her from the direction of the lifts.

He came to a stop before her, looking out of breath and slightly fearful. "They've taken her to the third floor. She's in and out of consciousness and they don't want anyone in there yet."

Regina scoffed. "_Anyone_ has never applied to **me** Sheriff." She brushed past him and headed back the way he had just come from, to the lifts, to Emma.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

She stared at the blonde on the bed from the doorway. Her face was turned toward the window, even in sleep searching for the sunlight. The room was spacious, they'd spared no expense for a deputy hurt while on duty. That was all Graham could tell her. She'd demanded more, grabbing the collar of his shirt with both hands so violently he'd made a choking sound, but he didn't know what happened. A man, new to town, had found her. The man had gone back out to the woods to retrieve his motorcycle and then had agreed to meet the Sheriff at the station to give his full statement. He had just wanted to make sure she was here to watch over Emma before he left.

She was afraid to go in, afraid she'd lose it if she got any closer. Emma looked so small and frail there on the bed. She couldn't see any visible damage from this distance. Oxygen was flowing through a tube and into her nostrils, but she was breathing on her own, which was a good sign, even though the rise and fall of her chest was slightly irregular, strained somehow.

She took a deep breath. The last time they were in a hospital together, though it had been under very different circumstances, Emma had been strong for her. It was time to return the favour. She put on her most regal bearing she could manage and took a step into the room. The second her heeled boots broke the threshold, all hesitation left her and she propelled herself forward, falling into the seat positioned by the bed.

Wires she knew were connected to leads positioned strategically across her girlfriend's body, snaked out of the hospital gown near her right shoulder and wound to a central connector that led up to the heart rate monitor. She had a good reading, not ideal, but nowhere near bad either. Regina took comfort in that. The IV in the back of her right hand led up to a half empty bag of saline. She was covered by a special heating blanket, two thin hospital blankets over that. When she came in she must have been cold.

She tried to piece together what she knew. Graham had sent her out to the old toll bridge on a call. Something had happened while she was out there and she was found by some mysterious man just passing through town; the same man then drives her to the hospital. How did he even know Storybrooke would have a hospital? Why not drive her to Portland? She knew one thing for sure; she was going to question this tourist herself. Nobody came to Storybrooke without intending too. The road that led in dead ended in town. It was isolated, a town at the end of a forest road. What was his business here? And what had he been doing in the woods near a rickety old bridge? Questions swam through her mind as her suspicions grew.

"Mayor Mills?"

She looked up sharply from the chair. Dr. Whale stood in the doorway. He motioned to the hall and she immediately stood, following him out of the room. "What's wrong with her?" The words had left her mouth before she'd even made it fully out of the door.

The blonde haired man glanced back in the room and sighed. "The man who brought her in, a Mr. Booth, said the impact was pretty hard. She has three cracked ribs. Luckily x-rays show no full breaks. It should take about a month for them to heal, but she won't be able to lift anything until then. There'll be a lot of discomfort as well, trouble breathing, and she may find it hard to sleep. We took an ultrasound of her abdomen. Sometimes traumas such as this can require a splenectomy. Do you know what prior surgeries she's had by any chance?"

Regina frowned, realising she knew none of Emma's medical history. "I know she had a C-section, but beyond that, I don't know of any others."

He nodded. "We'll just have to wait until she wakes to get the medical history then. It's all a waiting game now. We may need to keep her overnight for observation, just to make sure there aren't any injuries we've overlooked."

"So, you didn't need to do the splenectomy then?"

He shook his head. "No need. Her spleen's already been removed, along with her stomach, a portion of her small intestine and one of her kidneys. She must have experienced a serious abdominal trauma at a young age." He left her then, with a nod, walking back off down the hallway as briskly as he'd come.

She moved back to the door, staring in at the blonde. "Oh Emma Swan, you are a puzzle, aren't you?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma's eyes fluttered open. She stared around at the small hospital room. She'd spent a fair amount of time in the hospital in her day, enough to know what the curtain track around a bed and the beeping of the machines meant. She was buried underneath a small mountain of thin hospital blankets as well as a body heating pad. Leads were stuck to her body, connecting her to the machine that monitored her heart rate. An IV in the back of her right hand led up to a saline drip.

Breathing was hard. Moving was harder, sending a ripping pain through her when she tried to sit up. She fell back down to the unforgiving mattress of the hospital bed with a growl of anguish.

"You shouldn't try to move."

Her head whipped to the right so fast that, for a brief moment, the room spun dangerously. When everything came back into focus, she was met by the sight of Mary Margaret, sitting in the chair beside the bed. "Hey."

Mary Margaret gave her a small smile, the schoolteacher trying to disguise the fact that her eyes kept straying to the blonde's forehead by snapping her gaze back to her eyes whenever she noticed her eyes starting to wander upward again.

The hand without the IV raised up to her forehead, touching down on the bare left side and then it slid across until it touched gauze just to the right of the center. She skimmed her fingers delicately over the gauze from one end, to the other at her hairline, feeling a stickiness through the bandage nearer to her hairline, blood semi-fresh. She had hit her head when she hit the water. That's right. She remembered the sharp flare of the impact. Must have been a rock under the water or something. "I... I missed lunch."

Mary Margaret's face crumpled in concern. "No Emma, don't worry about that. I was worried when you didn't show, even more worried when I called Mayor Mills and she didn't know where you were."

Emma's disorientation seemed to dissipate somewhat at the mention of the mayor. "Regina knows I'm here?"

The schoolteacher nodded. "After I called her and told her you never showed for lunch, Graham called her and said you were here. She called me a little while ago and asked if I could stay with you while she went and picked some things up for Henry and took them over to the Nolan's. Katherine is going to keep him until you get released."

Emma frowned, groaning as her head began to throb. "Where's Regina going to be?"

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow. "Well I would assume she's staying here with you." She sighed. "Listen Emma, Sunday... well I said some things that were a little harsh. Maybe it was jealousy, or... I don't know, but I shouldn't have said what I did about your relationship. Regina loves you. She didn't even want to leave for an hour; she's so worried. And she really wanted to be here when you woke up. She really does love you."

Emma sighed, her head rolling back to look at the window. "She doesn't need all this stress."

Mary Margaret chuckled softly. "If you weren't here Emma, she'd just be stressing over something else." She put a hand on the young woman's wrist. "I may not like how possessive she is of you Emma, but I'm not going to lie and act like you being here hasn't been the best thing for her."

Emma slowly brought her eyes back to the schoolteacher, giving her a tired smile. "Thank you."

The schoolteacher nodded softly. She may not be the biggest fan of Regina Mills, but they shared a common bond, they both cared about the woman on the hospital bed, already starting to fall back to sleep.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

When she woke again, the sky outside the window was pitch black. The room itself was semi-dark, only dimly lit by the low burning fluorescent lights in the hallway beyond the partially open door.

The seat beside her bed was occupied once again, this time by a different brunette. The mayor's face was troubled in sleep, lines creasing her forehead and the edges of her eyes. Her mouth was pressed down in a grimace. One hand was reaching out, grasping Emma's left hand as if it were a lifeline, while her head rested in the crook of the elbow of her opposing arm, resting on the edge of the bed, near Emma's own elbow. The position looked far from comfortable

Emma smiled. Now that Regina was here, she felt better than she had before. Of course, maybe that was the handy dandy morphine drip they'd set up in her IV. Either way, the pain had receded to the back of her mind and breathing, while still slightly stiff, was coming easier. "Baby?" Her voice sounded raspy from dehydration and lack of use. How many hours had she been out?

Regina's eyes shot open instantly. Her time spent in hospital rooms with Henry had made her aware, even in sleep. She straightened up, the hand clutching Emma's tightening as she leaned from the chair over the bed. "Hey sleeping beauty, welcome back to the world." She extended the arm her head had just been resting on and brushed a limp strand of hair from the blonde's brow.

The relief in the other woman's eyes was palpable and Emma couldn't help the small smile that found its way onto her face. Loathe to let go of the woman's hand still clutching her own, she moved to raise her other hand to cup the brunette's cheek, but the coil of the IV stopped it from getting very far. She let it fall back to the hard mattress with a thud. She gestured to the tray before her with the smallest nod of her head, but it throbbed anyway. "Wa..."

She didn't even need to finish; Regina was already reaching for the medium dixie cup with the straw poking out over the lip. She released Emma's hand and urged her to hold the cup before she moved to help the blonde sit up just a little.

As soon as she was upright far enough to not spill all over herself in the attempt, Emma brought the straw to her lips and greedily began to suck it down.

"Slow sips darling." She stroked the blonde's tangled curls. "You don't want to overwhelm your system."

Despite the fact that the cool liquid felt so good running over her dry parched throat that she was starting to think it not merely water but the nectar of the gods, she obeyed the older woman's request, the straw falling from between her lips. She set the now half empty cup back on the tray, and eased back down against the pillow with the brunette's aid.

The mayor smiled at her, leaning down and kissing the undamaged half of her forehead. "Good girl." She sat gracefully back down in the chair, her hand seeking Emma's once more.

Emma buried her cheek against the pillow as she spent several drawn out moments just studying the older woman's face. Regina was here. She was safe now. "How's Henry?"

Regina sighed, seeming to slump in her chair with the weight of the day. She brushed her thumb over the back of their joined hands. "He wasn't happy that he couldn't come with me. He wanted to see you. He may be used to hospitals, with all the time he's had to spend in them, but he's seen enough to know that you're not here unless you need to be. He wanted to know what happened. I couldn't tell him because I'm not quite sure myself."

Emma stared into brown eyes, biting her bottom lip.

Regina's eyes searched the younger woman's face. The bandage that began just to the right of the middle of her forehead and extended all the way to her hairline was almost completely red-brown with dried blood from the gash it concealed. The discolouration peeking out from the edges of the gauze told her that the wound must be accompanied by bruised flesh.

"I got a flat tire, in the woods. The snow was thick and there must have been a rock or some debris buried underneath it. The tire blew out and I was changing it when I saw something in the woods. I went to go investigate and..." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to recall what had led her here. "The bridge... the toll bridge. I was startled and I fell against the railing. And I just kept falling. I... I hit the water, and it was so cold. Then... the man, he rescued me. He pulled me from the water, and he carried me back to the car." She smiled softly, looking around the hospital room in wonder that he'd actually brought her here. "He kept his promise."

"Ah yes, Mr. Booth."

Emma frowned. The name didn't sound familiar in the least. Yet she had been so sure she'd met the man before somewhere. She must have been wrong. "Is he still here?"

"In town?" Regina nodded. "He's staying at Granny's. He says he's in town on business, though he refuses to discuss the nature of his business, and that he won't be leaving until that's finished. How long that is going to be, I do not know. He gave his statement to Graham earlier." She pursed her lips. "If you ask me, the miscreant should be locked up in a cell."

Emma frowned. "For saving me?"

Regina's eyes softened as they once more focused on the blonde. "No darling, of course not." She closed her eyes for an extended moment before they opened again, though the softness hadn't left them. "I don't enjoy being afraid. When Graham called me, when he said you were in the hospital... I thought the worst." She shook her head. "I haven't felt that helpless since Henry was first diagnosed."

"Hey." Emma waited until the older woman's eyes returned to hers before she continued. "I'm fine." She glanced down at her body. Truthfully she had no idea if she was fine, but nothing seemed to be in a cast and she could still move her limbs, which seemed to be a good enough sign.

Regina picked up on her quick assessment and sighed. "Three cracked ribs, and that gash there on your forehead. Dr. Whale also said you'd be sore for a couple weeks, but you'll live." She squeezed the hand she still held. "He shouldn't have sent you out there by yourself. I should relieve him of his position."

"Don't you dare!" The outburst caused her lungs to expand and a sharp pain ripped through her side. She sunk in on herself, whimpering.

In the blink of an eye, Regina was over her, stroking her cheek and pressing soothing kisses to the top of her head. "Shhh, darling, I won't. Calm down."

She wanted the brunette to hold her; she wanted to be curled up against her as she had been just that morning. But she knew, with three cracked ribs, the position would be agony. So she just gripped Regina's hand all the harder and snuggled against the other that was still stroking her cheek. It wasn't as effective as being held, but it managed to calm her all the same.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma watched Regina through the open door of her hospital room as she spoke to Dr. Whale with the same air of authority she used with most of her constituents. She had been in mayor mode all morning and into the afternoon, getting everything prepped for Emma's departure from the hospital.

The doctor had explained that she'd been lucky, though she didn't quite share his sentiment, that the fall could and normally would have caused more damage. He stressed that her quick removal from the water had been critical in her injuries not being more severe, another thing they had Mr. Booth to thank for, though Regina didn't seem quite ready to admit that. The only person the mayor didn't seem to be blaming for the accident was Emma herself, and the blonde felt that if anyone could truly be blamed it was her and her own clumsiness.

"She really knows how to get things done, doesn't she?" Emma turned her gaze from the door to regard the schoolteacher. The woman had come directly over after school had let out for the day, much to the dismay of the mayor.

Mary Margaret frowned. "I may not approve of them, but her methods are effective."

Emma gestured to the bathroom. "Do you think you could help me get dressed? I would wait for Regina, but I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

The schoolteacher nodded, a sweet smile on her face. "Of course." She helped Emma down off the bed and they made the slow trek to the connected bathroom, grabbing the bag of personal effects along the way.

The second they were in the room and the door was closed, Emma let Mary Margaret ease her down onto the closed lid of the toilet. She tried to reach behind herself to undo the back ties on the gown, but the movement sent a sharp pain through her and she ground her teeth to keep from crying out.

"I'll get that." The schoolteacher's soft hands were undoing the ties one by one a moment later. As soon as the last one was done, she took a step back, grabbing the bag she'd set on the sink.

"Regina said she brought me sweats."

Mary Margaret examined the contents of the bag. She knew from her brief conversation with the mayor the previous day that the woman had disposed of all the clothes from the accident. They were all either ripped or bloodied, most beyond repair. She'd kept the gloves though, the one thing she'd chosen to salvage. Emma's phone had apparently been in the glove compartment of the cruiser, probably put there by the blonde herself when she found out how crappy the reception was in the woods. Finally, she located the sweats and removed them from the bag. She helped the blonde stand and get her balance, having her use the edge of the pedestal sink for support and then crouched to the floor.

Emma lifted a leg just enough to bring it over the waistband of the sweats and set it down in the leg hole. Then she repeated the process with the other. The brunette dragged the sweats up her legs, before she took over at her hips, pulling them over the curve of her ass herself.

Mary Margaret turned her attention back to the bag, rifling around for some sort of shirt.

Emma figured there was no way to spare the older woman from seeing her bare chest. She wasn't likely to pull the shirt on herself. She dropped the gown just as the woman turned back around.

Mary Margaret's eyes went wide at the sight. "Oh Emma!"

Emma self-consciously brought an arm across her chest to conceal her bare breasts from view, but the wideness of her friend's eyes did not reduce. Confused, she glanced down and could see the veritable pallette of colours that was her torso. Bruises of all sizes and varying shades littered her upper body. Her back, which had suffered the brunt of the impact was probably far worse and she was grateful that she was unable to see it. She felt herself tremble and looked away from her body, turning watery eyes to the schoolteacher. "Shirt?"

Mary Margaret nodded and helped ease her into a white long sleeved shirt that was at least two sizes too big. Then she followed that up with a pull over sweater that afforded her equally as much room, the black material loose enough to allow her free movement.

Emma looked at her friend. "Please don't mention it to her. She's already out for blood."

Mary Margaret nodded.

Emma gave her a small smile before stepping into the slippers that had been set down at her feet.

A knock at the door caused them both to look up.

"Darling? They've brought you a wheelchair so we can get you down to the car. I had Graham drive the Mercedes around to the loading zone."

"We'll be out in a second." Emma grabbed the bag, now nearly empty that Mary Margaret held out to her. Then she grabbed the woman's arm and let herself be helped from the bathroom. Everything would be better once she was home.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: feed the muse?


	32. Home And Healing

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: another chapter that's on the fluffy side. I seem to have a lot of those in this story. However, this story is meant to be character and relationship driven, not plot driven like most of my other stories. So I hope you enjoy all the same.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 32: Home And Healing**

Mary Margaret Blanchard had never been so afraid in her entire life as she was when she'd found out her best friend was in the hospital. After Emma hadn't shown up at the flat for lunch and she had gotten the blow off from the mayor (not that she'd expected anything less from the head of Storybrooke), she had found herself in Granny's commiserating with Ruby.

She had been on her third cup of tea and inconspicuously eyeing the dessert menu when Graham had trudged into the diner, looking tired and more defeated than she'd ever seen him. He had sunk into the stool at the far end of the counter, closest to the door, and buried his head on his arms.

Ruby had come bustling up. She had looked at the schoolteacher, lowered her voice to a whisper, and pointed a finger at the Sheriff. "What's eating him?"

Mary Margaret had shrugged. It had never occurred to her the magnitude of what had happened; she had figured it was simply Leroy on one of his drinking binges again. The town grump had been known to try and beat his own records of how fast he could polish off a case of beer, at least once a week it seemed, and Graham was constantly on call to take him to the station until he sobered up. How wrong she'd been.

After nearly fifteen minutes of silence and ignoring the steaming cup of coffee Ruby had placed beside his head, Mary Margaret had been unable to just sit idly by. "Is everything alright?"

Graham had raised his head slowly from his crossed arms, glancing at her to confirm she had been talking to him. "Deputy Swan got injured on a call, badly. The mayor is breathing fire; I think I might lose my job." At his own words he had paled and his head had fallen back to his arms.

But Mary Margaret had barely heard the second half of his statement. Emma was hurt. It was all that had processed in her head. She had thrown some notes on the counter next to her half-empty tea and rushed out of the diner without a backward glance.

It had just been her luck that Mayor Mills had needed to run home to get some clothes for Henry to deliver to the Nolan residence. She had been worried about having to spend an evening in a tension packed hospital room with an emotionally volatile Mayor Mills.

"We better get out there before she knocks the door down." Emma gave her a grin that was only half teasing. They both had little doubt that Regina was huffing impatiently outside the bathroom door.

Mary Margaret nodded, wrapping the blonde's arm around her shoulders so that she could bear her weight and they staggered to the door, unlocking it with the hand that wasn't wrapped around Emma's waist to balance her. She opened the door to find the mayor standing in wait.

"I can take it from here, Miss Blanchard." The thank you was left implied, but unspoken. She stepped forward, cradling the blonde gently against her as she helped her down into the wheelchair. She shot daggers over her shoulder at the schoolteacher. How dare the woman presume to take responsibilities that were meant to be hers? Deciding the best course of action to be ignoring the schoolteacher in hopes that she'd disappear, she focused her attention on helping Emma situate herself comfortably in the chair.

Mary Margaret got the hint. She gave the blonde's shoulder a squeeze as she passed. "I'll call you tomorrow to check on you okay?"

Emma nodded. "Thanks for helping me."

"Anytime." The schoolteacher smiled and gave a quick nod before leaving.

Regina crouched in front of the wheelchair so she could look up into the blonde's face. "You should have waited for me darling. I could have helped you get dressed."

Emma nodded. "I know. I just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible and you were busy."

Regina stood, leaning down to place a kiss to the top of the blonde's head. "I am never too busy to take care of you." She swept the backs of her fingers across the blonde's cheek. "Come darling, let's go home."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"I made arrangements so that I'll be working strictly from home for the next two weeks."

Emma's head rolled to the side on the head rest to regard the woman behind the wheel. "You didn't have to do that."

Regina glanced over at her. "Don't be silly. Of course I did. This would never have happened if Graham had been with you, and he would have been with you if I hadn't been all over his ass, and yours, about those fucking budget proposals." Her hands tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles going white. They pulled into the driveway, then the garage. She pressed the button to close the garage door with a trembling hand. "It was **my** fault."

Emma's eyes went wide and she sat up. "Baby no." She reached across the space between them, her fingers stroking through Regina's hair. "Do not start blaming yourself. Accidents happen every day; it was no one's fault."

Regina shook her head. "It has to be _someone's_ fault. It _has_ to be, because if there's no one to blame then that means that it was beyond control and that is something I don't want to believe in." Tears stung her brown eyes. "I don't want to, I _can't_, believe that I have no say in what happens to the things I love." There was a shadow in her eyes, the ghost of some past event haunting her irises.

Despite the pain it caused, Emma closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to Regina's, kissing her desperately. There was nothing she wanted more than to chase away whatever demons were attached to this woman's soul.

Regina's hands clung greedily to her cheeks, holding their faces together as her mouth moved against the younger woman's with a desperate hunger. Finally, she released the blonde, though her hands stayed cradling the younger woman's cheeks. "Don't ever scare me like that again darling. To think you could have... just **don't**."

Emma kissed the tip of her nose, wincing when the stretch caused a fresh bolt of pain through her torso.

Regina's eyes went wide as she realised the position her girlfriend was in and what it meant in regards to her injuries. She pushed gently on the blonde's shoulders, getting her to rest back in her seat. "Don't move until I come around to help you." She slid out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door.

Emma turned to the side in the seat, bringing her legs out, her slippered feet touching on the cold cement of the garage floor. She reached up and grasped each of the hands the brunette offered.

"On the count of three. One, two, three." She lifted as the blonde pushed up out of the seat. She watched the blonde's face crumple in pain as the movements jostled her injuries. "I'm sorry baby; I know it hurts."

Emma fell against the brunette, trying to catch her breath after the effort, but the deep breathing just aggravated the cracked bones even more. She hissed, her arms wrapping around the brunette, holding onto her for dear life.

Regina wrapped an arm tightly around the younger woman's shoulders, holding her up as she reached over and slammed the passenger door of the Mercedes. "Let's get you inside."

Emma nodded, moving to the older woman's side so she could grab her arm for support. They made their way slowly out of the garage and up the side walkway to the front porch. She grabbed onto one of the columns for the stability while Regina unlocked the front door. The woman was gripping her shoulders a second later, guiding her into the house. She let herself be led up the foyer steps and into the living room.

Regina eased the younger woman down to sit on the couch. She helped her lay back and put her legs up before she grabbed the throw draped over the arm and pulled it up over her. "I'm going to go get you a glass of water, okay? I'll be right back." She made her way across the foyer and into the kitchen corridor, moving into the black and white room.

She was on autopilot as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with purified water. As she watched the water filter into the glass, she let her thoughts wander to the previous day and the fear she had felt after Graham had called her. She truly thought she had lost her, for a brief instant she had felt what it would feel like to live without Emma Swan. And it had been perhaps the most acute pain she'd ever felt, a piercing searing thing that cut a path straight to her heart. She never wanted to feel like that again.

It wasn't until she felt cool water flowing over her hand that she realised the cup was overflowing. She pulled it out from under the stream, jostling more water over the lip and it fell to the ground with a splash. She set the glass on the counter and grabbed a dishtowel, crouching down to soak up the spilt water. But for every drop soaked up, another replaced it. And it was only then she realised she was crying.

With a swipe of her coat sleeve across her eyes, she was able to get rid of most of the offending droplets. She finished soaking up the mess on the floor, tossing the towel on the counter to trade it for the glass of water. She wiped away all remaining tears, composing herself before she would dare return to the blonde. The last thing Emma needed right now was to see her in distress.

Emma looked up when the brunette entered the room, carrying a glass of cool water. It crossed her mind to ask what had taken the brunette so long, but the redness around her eyes gave her away. She'd been crying, and she was trying to hide it under the mask of the calm collected mayor. Emma decided to let her get away with it this once.

Regina set the glass on a coaster on the edge of the coffee table, within the blonde's reach. "Do you need anything else?"

Emma shook her head. She reached for the brunette's hand, bringing it to her lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it. "Thank you."

Regina smiled. "Darling, I have to leave for just a little bit. I have to go pick up Henry from Katherine's and stop by the pharmacy to pick up those prescriptions Dr. Whale called in for you. Is there anything you need from the store?"

Emma felt her eyes already getting heavy. Her last dose of morphine was still in her system for the moment and its effects were still swirling through her blood. "7up."

Regina raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Finally she nodded. She leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to the blonde's lips, looking into her eyes as she pulled back. "I love you Emma."

Emma smiled. "I love you too."

With that one missed phrase, Regina's world seemed to right itself again. "I'll be back before you know it. Try and get some rest." She gave her one more peck before standing up and heading for the door.

Emma was asleep before the front door closed behind her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina pulled the Mercedes to a stop in front of the Nolan's house. Katherine was already standing on the porch, holding Henry's hand. His little face lit up when he saw Regina. She mirrored his smile and stepped out of the car. "Hey little man." She walked around to the sidewalk. She crouched down on the walkway and Henry released Katherine's hand to race forward and into Regina's arms. "Momma!"

She hugged him fiercely, almost afraid to let him go. "Momma missed you. Emma too. She can't wait to see you." She turned and opened the car door for him, helping him up into his booster seat and strapping him in. She placed a kiss to his nose. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to say thank you to Miss Nolan and grab your backpack, okay? Then were going to go pick up some things for Emma."

He gave her a little nod.

She smiled and closed the door.

Katherine was waiting for her on the porch, holding Henry's backpack by one strap in her hand. "How's Emma doing?"

Regina sighed, allowing her mask to slip just a little. "She's in more pain than she lets me see. The fall hurt her pretty badly. She's home now, resting. Henry and I are going to pick up her prescriptions." She ran a shaky hand through her brown hair. "I'm working from home for the next couple of weeks, to take care of her. It'll be good; Henry will enjoy the time at home." She nodded, as if trying to convince herself.

Katherine pulled her best friend into a hug, wrapping the arm that wasn't holding Henry's backpack tightly around her. "She's fine, Regina. She's strong. She'll be okay."

Regina bunched her hands in the back of the blonde's sweater, clinging to her tightly as she urged herself not to cry. Henry could see them from his place in the backseat of the car and she couldn't risk losing her composure in front of him. He didn't need the stress on his system. "I almost lost her. I thought I had."

Katherine pulled back to look into eyes brimming with unshed tears. "But you didn't. She's going to be fine Regina."

The brunette nodded. She wiped at her eyes with the back of a hand before reaching for her son's bag. "We should get going. I don't want to leave Emma alone too long. Moving around is still difficult for her."

Katherine nodded, handing the bag over. "Of course. You'll call if you need anything?"

Regina smiled before giving a small nod. "Thank you, for watching him, and for everything. You're a good friend Katherine." She gave the blonde one more quick hug before going back to the car and her waiting son.

She looked at her son sitting in the backseat as she started the car. "Have fun?"

He nodded solemnly.

"Everything okay sweetheart?"

Henry met her eyes in the mirror. "Is Emma going to die?"

Regina felt her heart fracture just a little at the tremble of fear in his voice. When facing his own illness, he had always had a stoic acceptance, but it was the thought of losing Emma that was finally breaking him. "No honey, of course not. She's just going to be hurt for a while, but before you know it, she'll be all better."

Henry nodded and she could see the worry slowly melting out of his watery eyes, the faith he had in her leaving no doubt that she was telling him the truth. "Are we going to take care of her Momma, like she does for us?"

Regina smiled. "Yes sweetheart. That's exactly what we're going to do." She turned her eyes to the road and pulled away from the curb.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina turned the key in the door and pushed it open, stepping in, one arm clutching the paper sack with the 7up and a few groceries, the other hand clutching one of Henry's. His other little hand clutched at the white pharmacy bag with Emma's prescriptions. She pushed the front door closed with a hip and then led the boy up into the kitchen.

It only took her a minute to put away the contents of the bag as Henry raided the refrigerator for some yogurt. She grabbed the bag of prescriptions, ruffling the little boy's hair as she passed on her way to take them to the blonde. She'd be due for her first dose in less than fifteen minutes. Her heels clicked loudly on the wood floor of the foyer as she crossed into the living room.

The couch was empty, the blanket barely still on the sofa, hanging only by the corner from one of the cushions. The water glass was tipped over on its side on the coffee table, but there was no spilt water. The blonde was nowhere in sight. "Emma?" She righted the glass and set the white bag beside it. "Baby?"

She walked back into the foyer and looked upstairs. The second floor was dark. "Emma darling?"

A weak reply came from the closed bathroom door in the kitchen corridor a moment before it opened and the blonde peeked her head around. She looked much paler than she had when Regina had left her, sweat beaded on her brow. She gripped the door heavily, leaning her weight against it so she didn't fall. "Hey, you're back."

Regina rushed forward to help support her. "You shouldn't be using your strength to get up."

Emma frowned as she let herself be led back towards the living room. "I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling well. The pain killers were wearing off and..."

"Emma!" A blur launched from the kitchen corridor and crashed into her legs. His little face looked up at her. Standing on tiptoes, he placed a kiss to her side, just below her rib cage, as high as he could reach. "There. I kissed it better. Now you'll get better faster. Momma always kisses away my ouchies."

She was thankful that Henry wasn't tall enough to reach her ribs yet. She smiled. "I'm feeling better already." She ran clammy fingers through his soft hair. "I missed you kid. Did you have fun with Mr. And Mrs. Nolan?"

"I beat Mr. Nolan at Mario Kart!"

"You did?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically. "He drives slow, like an old man. I got all his balloons and he only got one of mine."

She smiled at him. "You'll have to show me your skills sometime."

He grinned. "Can we watch a movie, Emma, please?"

She nodded tiredly. "Sure kid."

Regina crouched down to her son's level. "Tell you what. Why don't you go upstairs and pick something out while I give Emma her medicine and then we'll all watch it together okay?"

He nodded, already heading for the stairs.

Regina watched him go before she finished leading the blonde into the living room. She helped her ease to a seat on the arm of the couch. It was higher than the actual cushions and aggravated the ribs less. The brunette dug through the white bag, removing two bottles, one a bright pink thick liquid in a clear bottle and the other appeared to be water in a tall red bottle. She also extracted two clear measuring cups.

Emma sighed in relief. Just at the sight of the medicine, her pain started to ease as if it knew relief was just around the corner.

"Pain medicine first. Your last dose of morphine has definitely worn off by now." She took one of the clear cups and filled it to the brim. The liquid that poured from the red bottle looked more comparable to urine than it did to water and Regina couldn't help scrunching up her nose at the pungent odor of it.

"Oh that's reassuring." Emma chuckled, wincing when the action hurt. She accepted the cup and, after making a face, downed it like a shot; she'd had Lortab before and it was never a pleasant experience. The quickness did nothing to disguise the obtrusive taste and she had to fight to keep it down after she'd swallowed it. Luckily, the brunette was already handing over the second cup, filled halfway with the pink liquid.

"That should chase the flavour a little."

She wasn't wrong. When Emma poured the antibiotics into her mouth, she almost sighed in relief. The medicine was sweet and altogether quite pleasant. "Amoxicilin?" With a taste like that, she had little doubt.

Regina nodded. "Dr. Whale wants you to take it for five days, three times a day. He's worried the gash on your forehead might get infected. They cleaned it, but you were still resting in river water, who knows what you picked up." She retrieved the second cup from the blonde's hand. "Stay here for a second and rest while I go put your medicine in the fridge and wash these out." She gave the blonde a warning look. "I mean it, don't move."

Emma nodded. "Ma'am, yes ma'am." She would salute if she could lift her arm that high. She watched Regina go, and only once the woman was out of view, did she allow herself to slump down.

The wave of nausea had come on not fifteen minutes after the brunette had left to pick up Henry. She'd struggled to sit up, downing almost the whole glass of water because, at the time, it had seemed like the best solution. How wrong she'd been. It had only served to crank up the intensity of the nausea. She'd doubled over and then shot right back up as the bending had sent a wave of pain up her side. She'd made it to her feet, stumbling a little and bumping her shins into the coffee table, knocking over the empty water glass.

She wasn't sure how she had made it to the bathroom. Every step seemed to be her last, but somehow she always found the energy to take another. She had finally made it across the expanse of the foyer and into the small bathroom, collapsing against the sink, forced by her position to stare hard into the mirror, getting a good look at herself for the first time since the accident.

She hadn't been able to see any of the damage underneath the clothes, nor had she had the courage to lift the shirt and look, but she could see her face. The bandage had been changed twice during her stay at the hospital, but there was still a jagged trail of red to contrast with the starkness of the gauze's white, just along her hairline. Her skin seemed sunken in like it would after several days in a row of sleepless nights. Her hair was a tangle, her eyes dull. In short, she looked like hell.

She'd managed to sit down on the toilet lid and rest, too drained to even make the attempt back to the couch. It had been both a relief and slightly frustrating when she'd heard the mayor and kid walk in. She had known that Regina would let her have it for getting up, but at least the bathroom afforded her an acceptable excuse for getting up off the couch.

She'd used the pedestal sink to pull herself up off the toilet seat and kept one hand on it for support until she had been able to make it to the door.

"You ready?"

She snapped out of her musings, looking up at the brunette. Somehow, Regina had made it directly in front of her without her even taking notice of the older woman's presence. The older woman was looking at her with concern written all over her face. She gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and nodded. "Let's go see what fairytale we'll be forced to endure tonight." Her light teasing tone gave away how much she enjoyed curling up with the woman and her son watching movies, even if most of them were of the animated variety. She accepted the brunette's hands and let the older woman pull her up. The pain meds still hadn't kicked in, they wouldn't for ten more minutes or so, but she managed to swallow back another grimace, determined not to burden the older woman with her pain.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stared at the screen, watching the end credits roll on their second movie of the night, **_Ice Age_**. The blonde had actually done better than expected. As per the mayor's orders, she had sat quietly at her end of the couch, resting back into a comfortable position as Henry had pressed play on **_The Little Mermaid_**. That was until her pain killers had kicked in. Between spending the previous night sleeping on the unforgiving hardness of a hospital mattress and the relief from the pain, Emma had come alive again, singing candidly along with _Under The Sea_ and _Part Of Your World_. _Kiss The Girl_ had been especially lively, when she had leaned over and brought her lips gently to the brunette's before leaning back and giving her a genuine grin. She hadn't made it much longer after that though, choosing to go to bed instead of watch the second movie.

Regina had offered to help her to the master suite, but she had stood up on shaky legs and insisted she could make it, that she needed to learn to walk without assistance. The brunette had been hesitant to let her do it so soon after getting home from the hospital, but the blonde seemed to be steadier than she had earlier. So she had let her go.

"You ready for bed sweetheart?" She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was after nine. She hadn't realised it was so late. Definitely past the bed time of the droopy eyed little boy who was yawning from his place on a pillow in front of the television, and almost past her own.

A little shaggy brown head nodded.

She used the remote to shut the systems off and got up, walking over to where he was and scooping him up into her arms. He was asleep before she even made it to his room.

She set him down on his bed, tucking his legs under the duvet and giving him a kiss to the forehead. "Sweet dreams, little one."

His only answer was to snuggle deeper underneath his blankets, sighing in his sleep.

She smiled to herself before leaving his room for her own.

The stip of light visible underneath the closed door was enough to alert her to the blonde still being awake. She opened the door slowly, a little fearful of what she'd find upon entry.

The blonde was sitting on the end of the bed, staring down at her own lap, still dressed in the loose fitting shirt and sweats that she'd worn home from the hospital. Her tangled golden locks shaded her face from view; her clasped hands wrung stiffly in her lap.

"Hey, I thought you were going to bed?" She closed the door before walking over, stopping just a short distance away.

When Emma finally looked up at her, tears were in her eyes and there was a look of misery twisted across her features. "I couldn't..." She fell silent and made a sweeping gesture down her body.

It took Regina a moment to realise what the blonde meant, but then it hit her. Emma couldn't lift her arms, could barely move, even with the pain killers in her system. She couldn't undress herself. "You just sat here this whole time?"

Emma nodded, looking back down to her lap. "I didn't know what else to do."

Regina sighed. "You could have come to get me, or even better, you could have just called for me. I would have heard you."

Emma glanced up at her, and before the blonde could hide it, the smallest amount of resentment filled her gaze. She didn't ask for help. That wasn't her way. She'd never been in a position to ask for help. She'd been alone way too long.

Regina sat down beside her on the bed. She reached for one of the younger woman's hands, smiling to herself when the blonde allowed her to grasp the hand without attempting to pull away. "I'll take care of you Emma. I **want** to take care of you." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to the blonde's temple.

Emma's green eyes looked up, searching hers for any deceptions. Feeling safe with someone had never been an easy thing for her. "I... Will you help me take a bath?" It was her way of conceding, of showing a little faith and letting the brunette take care of her.

Regina nodded, her own smile surfacing. "Of course darling. Anything you need." She squeezed the hand she still held before releasing it. She stood. "Let me just go start the water and then I'll come back and help get you out of those clothes." She disappeared into the en suite.

Moments later Emma heard the sound of rushing water. It was a soothing sound. The heat and cleansing of a bath would do her some good. She wanted to wash away the memory of yesterday. That rickety old bridge, the river, the icy rocks. She wanted to push it all away, bury the memories in the back of her mind where they could no longer harm her.

Regina padded back into the room on bare feet, tossing her boots over by the closet door. She held out her hands for Emma to take, just as she had in the living room earlier.

The blonde grabbed them gratefully. The pain medicine was still swirling through her system, though it would lose its effects within the hour, so there was only a small bearable jolt of pain this time as she was standing. She let herself be guided wordlessly into the bathroom.

The water pouring from the faucet of the freestanding tub was giving off curling waves of steam. It collected on the mirror and gave the room a pleasant warm humidity that seeped through the material of her shirt, trying to get in at the flesh beneath.

Regina closed the door and stood before her. She kept her eyes locked on Emma's as she reached for the hem of the shirt, lifting it slowly up. She lifted it as high as she could before encouraging Emma to duck her head so she could pull it over and then drag it down her arms. She tossed it off to the side. When her eyes caught the blonde's torso, sadness and guilt clouded them. Varying shades of purple, black, blue, brown, yellow, and green littered the blonde's pale skin like some painting gone wrong, co-mingling with her scars. She hadn't had a chance to see the true extent of the accident's damage. It was heartbreaking.

Her fingers gently traced the discoloured skin. "Do they hurt you?" The question seemed stupid to her ears, but she truly wanted to know.

Emma never once glanced down. She didn't want to see them. But it didn't matter. Though she couldn't see the actual damage, she also couldn't hide from the pain and regret twisting in the brunette's brown irises. "Not really. I'm a little stiff and sore, but nothing I can't handle. The ribs and the not being able to take a deep breath, that's the thing that's giving me trouble."

Regina nodded as if she understood but her gaze wouldn't leave the bruises. Finally, at the clearing of the blonde's throat, she shook out of her stupor and reached down, lowering the sweats to the ground, gently urging the blonde to lift one foot out and then the other before tossing them over with the shirt. The bruises continued down over her hip and lower. She closed her eyes and used turning to switch off the faucet as an excuse to look away. She rested her hands on the lip of the tub for a moment to compose herself before turning back to the waiting blonde. "You ready to get in?"

Emma nodded, reaching for her hands before they were even offered this time.

Regina smiled and raised them to meet the blonde's pulling her over to the tub. She stabalised her as the blonde moved first one leg in and then the other. Lowering her was done carefully inch by inch, pausing when she tensed as the hot water hit the bruised flesh of her torso, and then resuming once the shock had eased.

Emma sighed happily as she settled into the tub and Regina got down on her knees beside her. She stroked her fingers back and forth through the water, watching as they traveled with effortless ease. It felt like she could move again and a weight seemed to come off her heart. Her head lulled to the side so she could look at the brunette crouched beside the tub. "All I could think of, laying there in that water, thinking I may never make it out, was how much I was going to miss this."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Baths?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "No... you, Henry,** this**." She gestured to the entirety of the situation.

Regina blushed softly, turning her face away in an attempt to disguise the colouring of her cheeks. "Emma..."

The blonde reached out and grabbed the closest of the brunette's hands, dragging it to her mouth, pressing a kiss to the middle of the woman's palm in an effort to draw her attention back. When she drew brown eyes back to hers, she pressed a softer barely there kiss to the older woman's wrist, her eyes never leaving the mayor's. "I love you."

Regina gained enough control over her commandeered hand to trace her index finger across her lips. "My Emma..."

They stared into each other's eyes for countless minutes, having a conversation that no one beyond them could hear, silent statements emphasized with gentle caresses of fingers over cheeks and collarbones.

"Dip your head back, get your hair wet for me." Regina crawled to the head of the tub as the blonde complied. She dipped her hands into the water to wet them before squirting some shampoo into her hands, lathering it through the greasy tangles of the blonde's curls.

Emma moaned. She loved the feel of fingers running through her hair. It was one of the things that had the potential to not only comfort her, but arouse her as well. Her eyes fell closed and her head sunk back, giving the brunette better access, smiling as the older woman's nails scratched at her scalp to get the lather down to her roots. "That feels heavenly."

Regina hummed low in her throat. She rose up to her full height, walking to the vanity and retrieving an empty cup. She filled it with water and returned to the bath, setting it down beside the tub. She helped the blonde sit up straight before reaching for the cup. After cupping one hand at her hairline above her forehead to keep the water from going down into her bandage, she poured water over her hair, washing the shampoo out of it little by little. It took nearly four cups to get all the long golden curls clean but then she was done. She helped the blonde lay back down into her resting position and set the empty cup back on the counter.

"Feel better?" She looked down at the blonde in the tub who looked relaxed for the first time all day.

The blonde hummed an affirmative before resting her head back against the porcelain lip of the tub.

Regina sat on the closed lid of the toilet and regarded her girlfriend. She rested her elbows on her knees, wringing her hands before her. "Emma?"

"Hmm?" Emma's eyes had fallen closed, a look of serenity on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me you don't have a stomach?" The brunette bit her lip, her eyes slipping down to the tiled floor of the bathroom.

Emma tensed, her body going rigid underneath the shield of the water. "How did you...?"

"Dr. Whale... you were unconscious and he was asking me about your medical history. They were thinking a splenectomy, but..."

"I have no spleen." Emma didn't need her to say it. Her body lost some of its rigidity, but her jaw remained tight. "I never told you because it's not relevant."

"He said you suffered some sort of abdominal trauma. How is that not relevant?" She finally looked up at the blonde, amazed that the younger woman could claim such a thing.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Abdominal trauma is a little severe of a description."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "Fine. Then give me a better one."

The blonde sighed. "I was pregnant. One day, I got sick. I've never been much of an eater really. Food is scarce on the streets. You get it when you can and learn to manage when you can't. By the time I talked myself into the emergency room... I was scared it was him, something was wrong with him. I would have never gone in if I hadn't been afraid for him." She closed her eyes again and could see the scene playing behind her eyelids like a movie. "I remember them doing an ultrasound on my gallbladder. They thought it was gallstones. They said that my output was one of the worst they'd ever seen, though no stones were present. I had no idea what that meant, but I just wanted the pain to stop and I would have agreed to anything to make it go away." She swirled a finger absentmindedly in the cooling water. "It was supposed to be routine, just a simple laproscopic removal of the gallbladder, just four tiny incisions. They put me under with assurances that I'd be going home the following day." She pursed her lips. "I woke up three days later. Things... just started dying once they got in there. I'd lost half of my abdominal organs before they were able to contain the damage."

One of Regina's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide as she gazed at the blonde. Her heart was breaking for the younger woman, how scared she must have been, pregnant and alone, going through something like that.

Emma shrugged. "It was hard at first, but it gets easier with time. You learn what you can and can't do, the limitations of your energy levels. You learn what limits you can push, what hurts, what doesn't. That's what the prenatal vitamins are for. I need them. They're stronger than normal multi-vitamins. I take other supplements too, eat when the need becomes pressing. But I still manage life just fine." She finally let her eyes seek Regina's again, and the green of her irises begged the older woman to say something, anything.

Regina knew she could break the blonde here and now if she turned away from her. But she also knew she never could. She was in it for life. She stood, walking over to the edge of the tub, crouching beside it. Her hands cupped the blonde's cheeks and for a long moment the brunette allowed herself to just stare into green eyes, getting lost in them. "You are a survivor Emma Swan and the bravest person I've ever met." She leaned in, bringing their lips together to silence the protests she knew were coming. It took a moment but then she felt the blonde kissing back with fervor, clinging to the brunette's shoulders as the relief flowed through her body relaxing muscles one by one. The danger was passed and they were still together.

She pulled back from the kiss, her hands slipping from the blonde's face. As they withdrew, her fingertips brushed the surface of the bath, its water to room temperature and slowly sinking. "You ready to get out?"

Emma nodded, her eyes drooping. "I am tired, but I'm afraid to sleep."

Regina raised an eyebrow as she stood and went in search of a towel in the cupboard. "But you took a nap earlier?"

"For only about twenty minutes." She sighed.

Regina pursed her lips. "Well you have something now that you didn't earlier. Me." She draped a towel over one arm and came over to the bath. "Come on darling, let's put you to bed."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma laid on her damaged side. Dr. Whale had told her that most patients with broken ribs preferred to do so, saying it braced the broken bones as they slept. She did feel her breathing coming slightly easier, not by much but enough to be noticeable. Plus, it gave her a perfect view of the woman lying on her side beside her, mirroring her position.

"Think you can sleep now?" She reached out a hand and pushed a newly brushed strand of golden hair behind an ear. The blonde had relaxed even more as she had brushed her hair out. She'd given her a final dose of pain meds hoping that the drowsy effect of the medications would help her sleep.

"I want you here." She tapped the spot right in front of her, even though the meds were kicking in and her eyes were already drooping.

Regina smiled and scooted closer until their bodies were almost touching. "Sleep now baby, I'm right here."

A ghost of a smile crossed the blonde's face as she finally drifted off.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"A child?" The Queen was pacing the chamber. She'd requested the Blue Fairy retire while they discussed things and the fairy had agreed, cautioning them that time was of the essence. "How long have you known?"

"A moon's turn." Emma watched her with tired eyes as she paced.

The Queen stopped and faced her with incredulous eyes. "That long and you had not told me. This is my child too. My magic helped bring it into being."

The young blonde sighed. "I wanted to wait until we had announced our engagement. I was going to surprise you, after the ball. I didn't even know that I wouldn't lose the child prematurely."

Queen Regina closed her eyes. "A baby."

The older royal's tone gave the Princess no indication as to her feelings. "Born of both Houses; this child will end the feud. This is our chance." She ran a hand over her stomach. "This baby is our future."

"This baby is killing you!"

Emma shook her head. "No! A curse is killing me. It's killing our baby too. The Blue Fairy can heal me."

"But not it. The child will retain the curse. You know as well as I that magic can not influence the unwilling heart and the child has no will until it is born. It will retain the curse. You will have the curse, still there inside you."

The Princess sighed once more. "And what other choice do we have? Get rid of the child?"

The Queen remained silent, her normally challenging eyes downcast to the floor.

Realisation dawned on the blonde royal. "Oh, my love, **no**. Surely you can't..." She shook her head, unable to even form the words.

Brown eyes stared into green. "We can make another child, but I can never make another you. If I must choose, it is you that is my choice. I want this curse out of you. All of it."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: feed the muse. she happens to be really fond of reviews. and blueberries... and raspberry nutra-grain bars... and soda crackers... and apples... wow, my muse is quite gluttonous.


	33. Waiting For Wednesday

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: new chapter. no dreams this chapter for all of you who are invested in that part of the storyline as well. still this chapter had to be done. please note that we have jumped a month from the last chapter. that is all. enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 33: Waiting For Wednesday**

Emma opened her eyes. Her head turned to regard the bedside table where her phone was resting. She reached over and tapped it to life, noting the time at just past six in the morning. A wide smile spread across her face. It was _Wednesday_. She felt a huge weight lifting off her chest. Her head turned back the other direction to regard the brunette.

Regina was sleeping close, but not touching her. She'd become accustomed to sleeping that way, refusing to touch Emma until her ribs were complete healed. The brunette's guilt over the accident had ebbed but not faded completely and she had spent the last month fawning over the blonde's every need. Two weeks working from home had turned into three and a small routine had formed. Henry seemed to be enjoying the three of them spending the day in the same place, even if Regina spent the mornings and afternoons in her in-home office on business calls and plugging away at the never ending stream of paperwork. Last week she had finally been forced to go back to work. Appointments were piling up and she could no longer put it off. The blonde had been sad to see her go; she had loved having her just a few rooms away. But she knew it was only for selfish reasons that she wanted the brunette to remain home, so she let her go without any objections.

Emma had regained the ability to move freely less than a week after she came home. Getting up still pained her but she could manage it on her own. Walking up and down the stairs became easier. She still couldn't lift Henry, couldn't run, couldn't hug Regina. It had been an agony that had nothing to do with the pains in her side. But day by day she had gotten better. She had returned to the hospital last week, and the ribs were almost healed. The pain was gone. He had told her one more week, just one more. One more week ended today. It was Wednesday.

"Regina." She leaned over the brunette, nuzzling the delicate arch of the woman's neck, placing an open mouthed kiss to the spot where neck met shoulder.

Brown eyes fluttered open, the brunette instantly reclining onto her elbow, the question was on her face.

A grin broke across Emma's face. "It's Wednesday."

Regina's eyes lit up, a slow smile creeping across her face. "It's Wednesday?"

Emma nodded. She pushed Regina down flat onto her back, crawling over the brunette to straddle her stomach. She caught her own bottom lip between her teeth, staring down at the brunette.

Regina's hands slid up the blonde's bare thighs, winding over her hips, where they continued higher, inching ever so slowly up over her shirt covered sides. Even through the protective barrier of the cotton she traced the injured area with just the barest of touches. The sight of Emma's eyes fluttering closed, the way her body bowed forward at the welcome contact, the gasp that fell from her parted lips as her head fell back, sending her hair in a golden waterfall down her back, all this sent a heat straight through the brunette's veins and down to her core. Testing the younger woman's limits, she massaged her fingertips into the flesh, her arousal still held at bay by her concern for hurting the blonde. "What do you feel?"

Emma's eyes opened and she stared down into brown that was caught between lust and fear. She placed one hand over the brunette's on her previously injured side, pressing the older woman's hand harder against her. "I feel you, only you."

Regina smiled, her hesitation leaving her as her hands slid over the blonde's nightshirt to her breasts. Nipples hardened, peaking underneath the cotton fabric. She ran her thumbs over them, licking her lips.

Emma's hands once again slid over the brunette's, wanting more contact.

Regina chuckled to hide how aroused she truly was. "Oh darling, you have missed being touched, haven't you?"

Emma's teeth were biting hard into her lower lip, crushing it between the two rows of white. She nodded as she pressed the older woman's hands more firmly against her chest. "I have missed **your** touch."

Regina smirked at the blonde's clarification. Hers hands slid from underneath the blonde's and a disappointed whimper burbled from between the younger woman's lips. That whimper morphed into a soft moan as she realised the hands were approaching a much more pleasurable destination. The brunette grinned at the blonde's eagerness, her hands finally catching the hem of the oversized t-shirt Emma had worn to bed, bringing it up and sliding it up her torso. The bruises had lingered longer than normal, the worst ones from the accident a month ago were still showing as faint discolourations of her skin. Light blues, pastel yellows, and soft beige browns that dotted the pale flesh of her sides. She finished pulling the shirt up and over Emma's head, eyes devouring the bare torso revealed to her.

Emma studied the brunette's questing eyes, trying to keep the red flush of a blush from flooding her skin and giving her away.

Regina's hand smoothed down over the lean abs before her, the tip of her thumb tracing the circle of her navel, coasting over the small indent scar from where it had once been pierced. She was about to ask why she'd never gotten the piercing redone when she felt the evidence. She felt the ridge of scar tissue beneath the skin before she saw the pale line of the scar, barely visible across the top of her belly button. She traced the inch and a half long pale line, skirting over it with her thumbnail.

Emma felt her old insecurities welling inside her. With the exception of her cesarean scar, which had been claimed as Regina's territory, she still felt uncomfortable when the brunette lingered over her imperfections. She reached down, grasping the hand and pushing it down lower, into the waistband of her underwear.

Regina smirked, her eyes traveling up the blonde's body to meet green. "Impatient, aren't we?"

Emma's only response was to rock forward into the hand that wasn't quite yet as low as she needed it.

Regina's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Tell me what you want darling."

The blonde stared down at her with hooded eyes. "I want you to touch me. I want to feel you inside me." She rocked forward against the hand once more.

Regina smirked, her hand sinking lower and disappearing into the wetness. Two fingers slipped inside the blonde.

Emma nearly cried at the sensation, her thighs quivering in recognition of not only the intrusion in general but the intruder as well. "Mmm Gina. More."

The brunette obeyed the command, slipping a third finger into the drenched wetness. A happy mewl emitted from her own throat. She let the younger woman adjust to her and then began to slowly thrust into her.

Emma's hand sunk behind her, sliding under the duvet to the heat between the brunette's legs. The angle made it nearly impossible to slip inside her, but her fingers found the hard nub of her clit through her pajama pants and she rubbed at it furiously, too lost in the actions happening between her own legs to be more coordinated. The brunette didn't seem to mind though, and they soon found a rhythm. Emma, who had been held at bay for a month because of her injuries, was easily brought to the edge, tumbling over into shuddering bliss the moment Regina's manicured thumbnail grazed over her clit.

Regina was not getting adequate friction from the blonde's hand. The angle put her at the disadvantage. But even without the pressure she craved, seeing Emma fall over the edge almost sent her tumbling after. Almost. The blonde's body froze as her last aftershock rocked through her. Regina had just enough time to slip her digits from the blonde's core before the younger woman toppled down beside her. She couldn't help her smirk, despite the persistent throb between her thighs that constantly reminded her she was still unsatisfied. "Good?"

A hum of pleasure was the only response the blonde could manage. She took a deep breath, relieved when it didn't aggravate the injury, proof that she truly was completely healed. She grinned and sat up, looking back over her shoulder at the brunette. "I believe your pajamas must go." She moved back straddle the brunette's hips so she could work open the little buttons on her pajama top one by one. She made quick work, parting the last button and pushing the fabric open to reveal a bare chest. She had missed Regina's body. The brunette had avoided being naked in front of her all month, being thoughtful of her inability to be intimate while she was healing and not wanting to make things harder for her. But now, looking down at the older woman's exposed chest, she felt that it had been the cruelest deprivation.

She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her favourite spot on the brunette's body, the soft skin on the underside of her left breast where it met the smooth flesh of her torso. There was a small freckle hidden there, a random spot on the otherwise unblemished expanse of the brunette's body. It was her proof that even the older woman had her own flaw, small as it may be, though if Emma were being honest with herself, she didn't consider it a flaw in the least.

She crawled down the mayor's body, hooking her fingers in the pajama pants, drawing them and her underwear down, placing wet kisses on her hipbones.

Regina bent her legs at the knees to aid the blonde in removal of the pants, biting her lip as the younger woman gave one final hard tug to pull them off from where they'd gotten caught up on her ankles.

Emma gazed at the brunette's dripping sex; a shiver ran down her spine. She licked her lips and looked back up into the older woman's eyes for a long moment before dropping her gaze back to the apex of her thighs. She nestled herself comfortably into the cove created by the brunette's spread legs. She took one more deep breath before bending down to place a soft kiss to the brunette's clit, causing the older woman's hips to jump in response. She turned her head to the woman's thigh, nuzzling the soft skin to hide her smirk. When her eyes finally returned to Regina's there was amusement shining in them. "It seems I am not the only one who missed this." To emphasize her point, she lapped at the hardened bud once more, causing a similar reaction in the lift of the brunette's hips.

Even if she had the vocal ability at the moment to do so, Regina would not have denied the claim. She had grown so accustomed to stealing kisses and intimate touches, whether they actually led anywhere or not, since their first time, and it had been utter torture this past month keeping her hands to herself. A stolen smooch here and there had hardly been enough to sate her appetite for the blonde. She'd been struggling with unsatisfied desire all month.

Emma dipped her tongue into the brunette, soaking it with the older woman's wetness before withdrawing it back into her mouth savouring the flavour. She licked a line up her entire length as her own hand moved down to where her own wetness was starting to pool once more. Her teeth grazed the brunette's clit as her fingers found her own, rubbing over the still sensitive flesh with intent. She was hoping to steal another small orgasm before she brought the older woman over the edge.

Regina panted breathily. "I want you to fill me."

Her free hand, which had been preoccupied keeping the bucking of the mayor's hips at bay, slid down to the older woman's entrance, two digits disappearing immediately into the source of her heat. The blonde was quite proud of her ability to multitask as she felt herself on the fast track to a quick and dirty orgasm as Regina's own orgasm was building as a slow rolling boil.

Regina couldn't hold off any longer, her hips shamelessly working against the fingers and tongue that were moving between her legs. She couldn't see where Emma's other hand had disappeared to but if the purposeful rise and fall of the blonde's hips was any evidence, she was pretty sure she could guess. The sight of the younger woman fucking herself while she was pleasuring her only served to bring her to the edge with a sudden tugging burst of heat in her lower stomach.

Emma was almost there and she could feel Regina's muscles already preparing for the clench of orgasm. She sucked the older woman's clit into her mouth, hard, pressing firmly down on her own bundle of nerves. She came, releasing a sharp cry against her girlfriend's sex and that was all it took to send Regina tumbling after.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma dug around in the drawers, looking through her clothes. She had still demanded that the guest room be her room, always keeping her safe distance, but to make things easier while she was healing, Regina had insisted on giving the blonde two drawers in the master suite in which to store clothes. It was ridiculous to send the blonde down the hall every single day to get changed. It only made sense. Emma had been reluctant, but after several hours of enduring the brunette's pout, she had caved. She found the pair of leggings she had been searching for and a loose fitting t-shirt. "I was thinking I'd go take a run while you get ready for work." She slid the drawer closed with her hip.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "You run?"

Emma nodded. "It calms me. I've been waiting for the snow to melt."

Regina climbed out of the bed, her signature pout crossing her full lips. "Didn't I give you enough of a workout?" She padded across to where the blonde was unfolding the leggings to put them on. Pulling the leggings from the younger woman's hands, she dropped them to the floor. "Whoops." With a quick but coy smile, she leaned forward, falling against the blonde's lips. One hand curled around to the back of the younger woman's neck, holding her close. Her lips always seemed her most powerful motivator, especially when it came to her young girlfriend. She finally released the blonde's mouth, nipping at her lower lip. "I was hoping you'd join me in the shower."

Emma was tempted, very tempted. The idea of water sluicing over the smooth tan flesh of the mayor was a hard one to ignore. "If I get in that shower with you, you will be late to work. Very late." She took a step back and crouched down to pick up the dropped leggings.

Regina looked down at the blonde head. Something about the blonde kneeling before her seemed to appeal to something inside her, on a deep level she wasn't even sure she understood. Still, it aroused her. "As long as your down there darling..." She let her voice trail off.

Green eyes looked up at her, a lazy smirk on her face. "You are quite insatiable." Still she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the space between the brunette's legs.

Regina sighed, her fingers tangling in golden hair.

Emma pressed down another kiss before she stood once more, clutching the leggings in a hand.

The brunette growled a little in the back of her throat, her nose crinkling in displeasure.

The blonde chuckled, kissing away the older woman's frown. "You need to get ready for work and I need to run." She stepped around the older woman, playfully spanking her as she passed.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

_Inhale_. _Exhale_. _Inhale_. _Exhale_. She was overly aware of the movement of air in and out of her system, the deflation and expansion of her lungs in time with the pounding of her feet against the cold hard pavement. The snow had begun to melt away over the past week and a half. The air still held the frigid promise that winter had not yet completely run its course, but the ice that had covered the town the whole time Emma had lived here was now starting to fade with a different promise, one that spring was on its way.

She had been craving this, a chance to get out, not be cooped up indoors any longer. It had nothing to do with the brunette, or even the smallness of the town they resided in, it was merely a need she'd had for as long as she could remember. She needed to be outside, to move, to have this small cathartic release. The ache in her lungs and the burn of her muscles was small trade off for the small feeling of freedom she gleaned from the activity.

She needed this time to think. The recurring dreams had stopped. She hadn't had one since just after the accident. She wasn't sure whether she should be more worried that she'd had them in the first place or more concerned that they'd stopped so abruptly without warning. All she knew was that there was a part of her that needed to know what had happened to the baby of the Princess. It was like an unfinished bedtime story. She needed to know the ending. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring the dreams back. They'd left her.

She heard the rumble as it approached from down the street behind her, but she ignored it. She was so used to running along urban streets that the sound of traffic barely even registered on her radar anymore. Only, this wasn't exactly a big city.

The rumbling slowed to a noisy purr as it came up beside her.

"You're looking better."

She didn't stop her pace, but turned her head to look at the motorcycle lazily keeping pace with her and its driver, grinning at her as if they were old friends. She recognised Mr. Booth only because she didn't recognise him. After two months in this town, she was able to put names to the face of nearly every citizen in town. It wasn't a big place after all. There were a few exceptions; she'd heard rumours of the man who lived in the big dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of town, a man named Jefferson, but in all her time she'd never seen him leave his property. He could be dead in that monstrous place and she had little doubt that no one would ever know. She knew this stranger only from a lack of knowing him, accompanied by the fact that she hadn't seen anyone with a motorcycle in town. "Mr. Booth." She finally slowed to a stop, regarding the man as she tried to catch her breath.

He stopped the bike, lifting off the helmet he wore. He had a kind face, though it was rugged, the beginnings of a beard sprinkled across his jaw. His blue eyes were bright, sparkling with knowledge. He had a knowing smile that would normally unsettle the blonde, but surprisingly it didn't; she felt just as comfortable with him now as she had when he'd rescued her after the accident. He tucked the helmet under his arm and glanced up and down the street. "Your bodyguard lurking behind a tree or something?"

Emma rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her amused smirk. The man had been nothing if not persistent in trying to see her all month, but he'd been so far unsuccessful. Regina had made sure that no one but Mary Margaret (and even that had taken an extreme amount of convincing) had been allowed to see her during her recovery. "Afraid, are you?"

He shrugged. "From the talk around town, she's quite the force to be reckoned with."

She chuckled with a nod. "That she is. Bet your second guessing saving the mayor's girlfriend now, huh?" She had meant it as a joke, but the words hung in the air, sobering up both their moods in a flash. She toed her sneaker against the sidewalk. "Why did you? Save me, I mean. I hadn't seen your face; you could have run."

He raised an eyebrow. "You wanted me to let you die?"

Emma rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. "No, of course not. But, in my experience, people don't tend to do the right thing, they tend to do the easy thing. That, what you did at the toll bridge, was not the easy thing."

He shrugged once again. "Maybe you've just been around the wrong kind of people."

That was quite possibly the truest thing she'd heard from the man so far. "Maybe I have." She mirrored the man's earlier gesture and glanced up and down the street. "Still staying at Granny's?"

He shook his head. "No actually. I got a job at Marco's shop. I help him out with his orders and he let's me crash in his apartment above the shop. It's just an air mattress on the floor but I've been through worse."

She chuckled. "Yea, so have I." A car passed by on the street, honking the horn as it drove past. She waved a hand at Mr. French, the owner of Game Of Thorns.

"You've really made a name for yourself here." The man studied her intensely.

She shifted in his gaze. There was something almost intrusive about it, though not in a hostile way. She felt her muscles going slack and she jogged in place to warm them back up. "Well, it's home." She smiled as she let that statement truly sink in. "For now." She tossed in the amendment though it hardly felt as necessary as it used to. "But, I gotta go. I have a kid waiting at home for me. And my _bodyguard_." She flashed a grin his way and started jogging backwards. "Thanks for everything Mr. Booth. See you around town." She raised a hand in farewell before turning around and resuming her jog. She just hoped she wasn't late.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Ah, Mayor Mills, welcome." The proprietor of the shop she'd just entered gave her a slick grin that made her yearn for a shower. She wasn't particularly fond of dealing with the less desirable part of Storybrooke's population if she could avoid it, but sometimes her business brought her into unsavoury circles. The man behind the counter was not someone she'd normally associate with even when necessary, but her only other option for this particular task had been Mr. Gold and she was not that desperate, not yet.

"I gather you have my order." She flipped the hanging sign on the door to read 'closed', just in case any curious citizens decided that now was the perfect time to slip into this shop just off Main. She crossed the room, for once not able to hear the powerful click of her own heels, the sound silenced by the beige carpeting.

The walls of the shop were crimson and gold, everything in warm summer tones, even the gold fixtures of the display cases lent to the decor, matching the shop owner perfectly. He was a smarmy man, his thin greased mustache in direct contrast to the baldness of his head. His skin was like copper and he stared at her with black beady eyes, small and sinister in appearance, a perfect match to the tailored black suit he wore. He was thin and tall, easily overpowered if not for the hulking bodyguards that stood, flanking him, at either side of the curtained doorway that led to the back of the shop, both dressed in cream slacks and matching dinner jackets, black silk button up shirts visible beneath.

He held up a small box. "I have what you requested." His accent only leant to the slickness of him, like the leathery skin of a snake, fitting, considering his name.

She walked up to the display case that separated the man from herself, reaching for the box he held.

He pulled it away, out of her reach. "Ah ah, Mayor Mills. I expect my payment upfront. Just good business." Her leered at her. "I'm sure you understand."

She pursed her lips, opening her purse and handing him the stack of notes, snatching the box from him when he extended it back towards her.

The ruby rings on his fingers glittered in the overhead light as he released his grasp on it. He licked his thumb and flipped through the notes, counting them with his eyes. They both knew she had no reason to cheat him; she had plenty of money. Satisfied, he held the money to one of his bodyguards, who came forward to retrieve it and take it through the curtain into the back, no doubt to stash it safely away into the safe.

She didn't dare open the box while she was still in view of the windows. "Well, Mr. Capela..."

"Call me Naja, please."

She continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Mr. Capela, thank you for your services. If you'll excuse me, I really must return to work."

"Mayor Mills, a parting question if I may?"

She gave him no nod or any other indication that she agreed, but she stopped her trek to the door and that seemed to be enough for him.

"Not that I don't understand your preference to seek myself instead of the pawn broker, however, what does a woman like you need with..."

She knew where he was going with the question and held up a hand to stop him. "It is for a gift. While I'm sure I could find them cheaper elsewhere, they wouldn't be a part of this town, and that is what matters." She turned on her heels, walking back over to the door. She turned the sign back around as she opened it and then she was gone, leaving Naja Capela and his shop behind her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Why again are we going to Portland in the middle of the day?" Katherine glanced over at the brunette behind the wheel of the black Mercedes.

Regina sighed. "Because there aren't any jewelers in Storybrooke."

Katherine's brow furrowed. "But Naja Capela is..."

"A snake of a man who can't be trusted." She glanced down at her purse where the box of loose diamonds was peeking up just over the lip. "I need someone more trustworthy than a man who has two bodyguards follow him everywhere. No one is that cautious unless they have something to hide. He's just lucky I have no reason to look into his business; I'm sure I'd uncover enough illegal operations to have him locked up forever."

Katherine tried to hide her smile. She had known Regina long enough to know that the more hostile the woman became, the more of an act it was. "So you're really doing this?" She grabbed the box from the mayor's purse, pulling it out. She opened it to find the small box lined with velvet. Sparkling diamonds glittered back at her from the red velvet interior, glittering almost magically in the natural light.

Regina glanced over at her friend and the glittering stones in the box. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Katherine shrugged, closing the box, cradling it in her arms. "It's been over a month since we discussed it."

Regina shrugged. "It takes quite a bit of time and preparation to get those." She gestured to the box Katherine was holding. "Mr. Capela took quite a bit of convincing to part with some of the stock from his part of the mine."

"Couldn't you have ordered something from Tiffany's or just selected something from the displays at any of the jewelry stores?" She didn't get why the origin of the items mattered.

A blush coloured the mayor's ears, surprising the blonde. "I wanted the diamonds to come from the mine, from Storybrooke. I want this ring to mean something to Emma, more than just an expensive price tag. I want her to think of Storybrooke, think of **me**, as home. I want her to have a part of us with her always."

Katherine felt her eyes getting misty. She loved David, she really did, but even he had never looked that way when he talked about her; he had never loved her like that. It was a beautiful thing to see. She lifted one hand to wipe away a stray tear. "She's very lucky Regina, to have you."

Regina shook her head. "I'm the lucky one." She smiled. "Of all the people she's encountered in twenty three years, more than most people encounter in a lifetime, she chose me." Realising how she was letting her mask slip, she straightened her posture and focused back on the road. "She deserves a ring that means something."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma contemplated the ice cream sundae sitting between her and Henry as if it were a puzzle. She turned the dish slightly to the right and then slightly back to the left. It was best to establish a plan of attack with these kinds of things.

Henry stared at her expectantly, with his spoon raised in his little hand. His plan of attack with an ice cream sundae had always been, dig in and just try and eat it all before it melts. It had served him well in his five years of life.

Finally Emma sighed. "Alright kid, have at it."

He didn't need to be told twice, digging into the side closest to him and quickly bringing it back to his mouth, the ice cream topping concoction disappearing before he withdrew the spoon, suddenly clean, and went back for another.

Emma chuckled as she watched his wide eyed fervour. She scooped some of the leftmost ice cream pile, vanilla, onto her own spoon and popped it into her mouth. It was good. She allowed herself two more scoops before she stopped.

Henry's half of the table was a battleground of dropped toppings and ice cream that had fallen from his spoon during its trips between the dish and his mouth.

She rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. "I'll go grab you some napkins. Slow down there Mr. Mills; we don't not want to explain to your mom why you have a stomach ache or we'll both be in time out all night."

Henry said nothing, but she did notice that the speed with which his spoon traveled slowed considerably.

She smiled at him as she crossed the nearly empty diner to the counter.

Ruby looked up from where she was wiping down the counter, pausing the motions of her hand as she offered the blonde a smile. "Hey Em." She glanced past the blonde at the little boy sitting back in the booth. "It's nice to see him out and about."

Emma nodded, glancing over her shoulder at Henry. "I always feel so bad that he doesn't get out more. It's hard for a kid that age to be stuck indoors all the time. I'm trying to let him get out without putting him at risk."

Ruby nodded in understanding. "It seems to be working. He looks happy."

Emma smiled. "Yea, he does." It felt good to know she made him happy. She knew she'd never be able to offer a child much in the way of material things. They wouldn't have the latest clothes or the expensive toys, but a smile, that was something she was pretty sure she could manage. And there would never be a shortage of love.

"So, you got any plans for tomorrow?"

Emma groaned in response. Today may be Wednesday, but she was also fully aware that it was also the thirteenth of February. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day, the holiday of lovers. And she had exactly zero things planned. She shook her head. "I haven't been able to set anything up because I've been under house arrest. I think I'm just going to have to make her dinner and promise to make up for it for her birthday or something. The timing was just bad."

Ruby passed Emma the napkins she'd come up for with a mischievous smile. "Maybe I can help."

Emma raised an eyebrow at the younger woman, smirking. "Are these plans going to end with my bra in the refrigerator?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: Just a small note that for Naja Capela (my Jafar equivalent) his name come from Naja (the name of the Indian Cobra) and in my language Cobras are called cobra de capela, capela meaning hood, hence we get Naja Capela, shady jewelry dealer. Just in case anyone was curious.


	34. Holiday Of Lovers

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: I am home very briefly, just 5 hours or so before I leave on my birthday trip. I will return on Monday evening (my actual birthday) and may post another update then if I have time. We shall see. This is just fluffy Valentine's day stuff. Enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 34: Holiday Of Lovers**

Regina slipped in through the crack in the front door before closing it against the cold February air. She rubbed her hands across the arms over her coat to aid the slow work the indoor heater was doing of warming her up. The foyer lights were dimmed, but that was all that was there to welcome her home.

She slipped the coat off and deposited it in the coat closet before trudging slowly up the steps to the elevated half of the foyer. She regarded her options. The parlour promised a comforting glass of cider and relaxing in front of a low fire. It would let her wind down the proper way from a long day. The kitchen promised dinner that Emma had packed away for her and possibly a glass of wine. The stairs would lead her up to her sleeping son and girlfriend. She had called Emma nearly four hours earlier to tell her she wouldn't be home until late and not to wait up. The side trip to Portland had taken longer than she had wanted due to an accident on the highway. By the time she had dropped Katherine back off at her home and made it back to City Hall, there had been sixteen calls to return and a mini mountain of paperwork waiting on her desk for her.

Deciding she was more hungry at the moment than she was tired, she turned right and headed into the kitchen corridor. She flipped on the light, regarding her pristine kitchen, thankful that her girlfriend was thoughtful enough to clean up all traces of a mess. She was too tired to clean up after anyone at the moment; it was nice to know she didn't have to.

A small square of green paper stuck to the door of the fridge caught her eye. She walked over, squinting at the small fine print scrawled across the small post-it. _I left a plate in the fridge all ready for you. Eat quickly baby; I don't like being in our bed alone. I love you._

The brunette smiled, her fingertips tracing the words that Emma had written just hours before. It had probably been an afterthought to the blonde, something of little consequence, but to Regina it meant the world. She'd always heard that it was the little things lovers did that ended up capturing your heart. She'd never believed that more than she did now.

She opened the fridge and pulled out her dinner, taking it over to the microwave to reheat it. She let the repetitive motion of the plate circling on the other side of the glass door relax her. Her body moved through the motion of pouring herself a glass of wine without really thinking about it. The microwave beeped just as she put the glass to her lips. The rich liquid soothed her. She popped a forkful of lasagne into her mouth and sighed. Good food, good wine, and good company waiting for her just up the stairs. It felt like home.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

The meal and two glasses of the rich red had left her sufficiently relaxed. Her heels hung from the tips of the fingers of her right hand, her left sliding along the banister as she walked up, taking her time. There was no need to rush.

She stopped at Henry's door, opening it. His bed was a mess, the blankets a tangle, his new favourite book, the one Emma had given him, half tucked under his pillow. But her son was nowhere to be found. She walked into the room and peered on the other side of the bed; Henry had, on more than one occasion, rolled off onto the floor without even waking up. But he wasn't there either.

She raised an eyebrow, the smallest tendril of panic trying to push its way through the pleasant shell that the wine had put around her. She continued on to the far end of the hall and her own room. She opened the door and instantly all worry dissipated.

Henry was there in her own bed, curled up protectively in Emma's arms. The blonde was on her usual side of the bed, her hair tousled, fanning out across her pillow, wearing one of her raggedy old oversized t-shirts. Her arm was draped over the little boy in the middle of the bed, while one of his legs was wrapped up over her hip. The duvet had been kicked down to the foot of the bed, covering only up to mid-calf on the blonde and none of Henry.

She smiled, her heart melting at the sight. She drew her phone from her pocket, snapping a photo of the sleeping pair before setting it on her bedside table. She grabbed the negligee draped over the chair of her vanity and tiptoed into the en suite to change.

When she reemerged ten minutes later, her makeup washed away and ready for bed, she found that the two already on the bed hadn't moved an inch. She walked to Emma's side of the bed and turned off the lamp the blonde had left on before going back around to her side and crawling in. She scooted close to the pair. She reached a tentative hand towards the one draped loosely over the boy, cautiously threading her fingers through Emma's. The blonde shifted in her sleep, but didn't wake, her fingers tightening to grip the brunette's unconsciously. As if sensing the new presence, Henry rolled onto his back, his sleeping face flopping towards the warmth of Regina. She leaned in a pressed a kiss to his forehead. The only response was a quick crinkle of his nose without waking. She smiled, leaning over him to press one to the blonde's forehead as well. She couldn't help her grin as she saw the blonde's nose similarly crinkle. He must be picking up on her mannerisms. "Goodnight my loves." She let the whispered words linger in the air above them like a blanket before finally settling down into her pillow, pulling the duvet up over them, and closing her eyes. Sleep came quick and easy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A weight dropping across her torso was what woke her. She grunted and blinked her eyes open, squinting against the harsh rays of sunlight filtering in through the window. Once they'd adequately adjusted and she was able to open them fully, she took in the little boy sitting on her stomach. His hair was sticking up every which way from sleep, still in last night's pajamas, a toothy grin on his face.

"Morning sweetheart." Her head fell to the side to regard the empty half of the bed. "Where's Emma?"

"Making breakfast." He leaned forward, bringing his little face closer. "Momma?"

She attempted to smooth down the unruly mess of his hair. "Hmm?"

"Will you be my valentime?"

His mispronunciation was too cute, she didn't have the heart to correct him. She nodded. "Of course I will sweetheart." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Momma, can someone have two valentimes?" He leaned down until his face was only inches from hers and cupped his hand to the side of his mouth as if he were sharing top secret information. "Because I think Emma wants you to be her valentime too."

She stroked her thumb across his cheek. "Yes, you can have two."

He sat back and wiped a dramatic hand across his forehead as if he were wiping away sweat. "Good. I don't want Emma to not have a valentime." He rolled off her and hopped off the bed. "Breakfast is almost ready Momma." He opened the door and disappeared into the hall, leaving it thrown open in an obvious invitation for her to follow.

She smiled as her forearm fell over her eyes and she groaned. The long day yesterday was weighing on her muscles, making them throb with a tinge of soreness. In all honesty, she had been so busy worrying over Emma's injuries this past month she had completely forgotten that the holiday of lovers was approaching. She'd never really indulged in any sort of festivities in years; there had never been anyone to celebrate with for quite some time. For so long, it had been just like any other day, work followed by a night home with Henry. But now she had Emma. She hadn't thought to make plans, or to even get her anything. She felt her stomach drop unpleasantly. What if Emma was expecting something? She'd have to sneak away again during work and pick something up.

With a sigh, she slipped from bed, grabbing her satin robe and throwing it on over her negligee. She tied it loosely around her as she padded down the hall to the stairs. It wasn't until she was three steps down that she smelled it. Bacon. Emma was cooking it for her. She bit her bottom lip to contain the smile.

When she reached the ground floor and headed for where Henry was, sitting in his usual seat to the right of the head of the table, his feet kicking back and forth since they didn't reach barely halfway to the ground. The table was set already with placemats and cutlery, but no plates. Emma must be serving them directly. But there, laying across her place setting was a single red rose.

She ruffled Henry's hair as she passed, grabbing the rose and falling into her seat as she held it to her nose, inhaling deeply of its scent.

Emma backed through the two way door connecting the dining room to the kitchen, her arms laden with dishes, looking like a well trained waitress... if waitresses typically dressed in an oversized sleepshirt. She smiled when she saw Regina sitting in her usual spot. "You're up. Good." She deposited the dishes in front of the brunette, Henry, and the empty place setting to Regina's left. Once she was free of the plates, she pressed a proper kiss to the top of Regina's head. "Good morning." She was out of the brunette's reach before Regina could grab her and pull her down for a kiss.

Regina watched her disappear back into the kitchen and reemerge moments later, holding a glass and a juicebox in one hand and a mug in the other. She set the mug next to Regina's plate before placing the juicebox in Henry's outstretched hands. She walked back around to her side of the table and sat down with her own glass of orange juice.

"This looks wonderful darling, thank you." She took a sip of her tea, sighing into the cup as she tasted the perfect mix of tea and milk. Emma already knew her routine by heart. There was a comfort in that.

Emma smiled over the rim of her glass, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment.

The three ate in companionable silence. Regina didn't want to mention the day, embarrassed that she had made no plans. Instead she inquired after how Emma and her son were going to spend the day while she was at work.

Emma grinned across the table at Henry who matched her tooth for tooth as he grinned back. "We thought we'd go for a long walk, get out of the house for the morning."

Regina swallowed the bite she was eating and glanced between the two. Finally her gaze settled on Henry. She eyed him carefully. "How are you feeling?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "I'm fine Momma."

Regina raised an eyebrow and swung her gaze to the blonde.

Emma grinned playfully. "I'm fine Momma."

Now it was Regina's turn to roll her eyes. "Very well children, I approve."

Emma found Regina's knee under the table and gave it a quick squeeze of thanks. She needed an excuse to get out of the house if she was going to finialise everything for the coming evening.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Gloves?" Emma slid her own over her hands.

Henry held up his hands to show her. "Check."

"Hat?" She pulled the knit beanie over her hair.

He pointed to his covered head. "Check."

"Scarf?" She wound her own around her neck.

"Check."

"Jacket?" She handed him his coat from the closet and grabbed her own.

He pulled the zipper up after he put it on. "Check."

"Okay, I got juice boxes, your medicine..." She trailed off as the mayor came down the stairs. Regina was just in one of her many powersuits, nothing different from any other morning, but Emma found herself struck by the older woman's presence, scrambling her thoughts mid-sentence. Luck had never been on her side in life, and yet here, in this house with this boy and his mom, she felt as if she were perhaps the luckiest being in the world.

Henry gave her a slight push towards his mother with his gloved hands and walked out the front door into the chilly February morning.

Emma chuckled lightly at the not-so-subtle move and walked up to the raised half of the foyer, meeting the brunette at the bottom of the stairs.

Regina smirked as she looked towards the open front door that her son had just disappeared through. She turned her gaze back to Emma with a more serious expression. "You'll be careful?"

Emma rolled her eyes but grinned. "Yes Mama Bear, I promise I won't overwork him, or myself. Spring is around the corner; we need to start to get him outside a little. He'll never feel normal if we encourage him to be a shut-in."

If this were anyone else, Regina would balk at the audacity of them to question her mothering methods. But this was Emma, and she had a point. She gave a small nod and led the way over to the door. "Be careful. Call me if..." She was cut off as she was dragged into a kiss. The second Emma's lips released her own and the blonde pulled back, grinning, she raised a dazed eyebrow. "What was that for?"

"For caring." Emma walked past her and stood in the doorway. "Happy Valentine's Day baby. I'll see you later."

And then she was gone and Regina was left wondering if Emma Swan would always move about her life like thunder.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma walked slowly, holding Henry's wrist up in the air. "Ready? One, two, three..." She swung him up in the air in front of her. He giggled and his legs flailed wildly before gravity pulled him back to the ground.

"Again." His huge grin lit up his entire face.

Emma gave an exaggerated and tired sigh. "Again?"

He nodded, wiggling his arms to punctuate his request. "Again."

"Alright. One, two, three..." She swung him up again to an equally enthusiastic response. Her arms were practically screaming at her to stop. This was not easily accomplished without a partner, one adult to grab each hand as they swung the child out between them. But she had felt so bad when Henry claimed that he'd never been swung before. Now she slightly regretted offering to show him what he'd been missing. Or at least her arms did.

And then Henry's giggle died in his throat. His feet fell to the ground with a thud and he pulled his wrists from Emma's grasp only to turn and wrap them around Emma's legs, burying his face against her hip.

Emma stared down at the boy in confusion before she looked down the sidewalk ahead of them. Approaching at a leisurely pace, made slower than average by the cane he leaned his weight on, was a middle-aged man with shoulder length light brown hair. He was lean and shorter than average, she was sure even she could take him down, and yet the air of intimidation he exuded was potent even from this distance. Her natural reaction was to wrap a protective hand around the boy and stand a little taller.

"Ah, Miss Swan, young Mr. Mills, pleasant to see you out and about this morning."

Emma frowned. She hadn't formally been introduced to the wealthiest resident in Storybrooke yet. He kept to himself, only showing up when a situation required it of him, otherwise keeping to himself. But between Regina, Ruby, Mary Margaret, and most of the other residents, she had heard enough about the mysterious man that his reputation proceeded him. "Mr. Gold."

The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile that never quite fully formed. He was amused. "I heard about your unfortunate accident out at the old toll bridge. I trust your injuries have healed well?"

Emma nodded, still regarding the man warily. "Yes, thank you. Everything's fine now."

He inclined his head. "Well I hope you'll pass my best regards on to the mayor and let her know that there's no hard feelings that she requested Mr. Capela's services instead of mine. Though I would have given her a much fairer price."

Emma had no idea what he was talking about and before she could ask, he gave her a knowing smirk and strolled right on past.

"Good day Miss Swan. Henry."

Emma shivered. She'd always been a pretty decent judge of character and that man just inspired a bad feeling to spread throughout her. He was certainly not somebody to be trusted. She waited until he was around the corner and far out of earshot before she nudged the little boy with her hip so that he unburied his face.

He glanced around with darting eyes, checking for any sign of the unsettling man. Finally he looked up at her with hazel eyes, still tinged with the after-effects of fear.

Emma stroked his head and gave him a reassuring smile. "He's gone. You're okay."

"I don't like him."

"Yea buddy, I don't like him much either." She shivered again before taking his hand and resuming their trek. "Why don't you like him?"

"He's mean to Momma."

Emma frowned. Just another reason to be wary of the man. But there was something else on her mind, something Mr. Gold had said. "Henry, do you know who Mr. Capela is?"

"He has lots of money like Momma and Mr. Gold. He owns a store with pretty things, sparkly things, but I am not allowed in there."

"Why not?" Henry was the most well behaved five year old she had ever seen. There was no reason that he should be banned from anywhere. Except maybe a sex shop, but she highly doubted there was one of those in Storybrooke, though she wouldn't put in past Ruby Lucas to run one out of the unused back room of the diner. She smiled to herself as she realised Ruby would probably find that a promising business venture. 'Come on down to Granny's where you can get a good night's rest, a filling meal, and satisfaction of a _different_ kind'.

Henry was puzzled by the amused smile on the blonde's face but he just shrugged. "He doesn't like kids. He hisses at them if they get too close to his store."

Emma frowned. She already didn't like this guy. What business could Regina have possibly had with him? Whatever it was, she decided it could wait until tomorrow. She didn't want her plans for tonight spoiled over something Mr. Gold said. She squeezed Henry's hand. "Come on buddy, let's go see if Ruby has everything set up for tonight."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina looked up at the knock on her office door. She knew what it was before she even called out for her secretary to enter the office. He held up the solitary red rose and the envelope with a flourish. She had to force herself not to smile and give away how much she was enjoying these little deliveries. It was four o'clock, one hour until she'd be off duty and ready to go home to her family. The delivery of the roses had been every hour on the hour. Some came with poems, written out carefully in Emma's surprisingly elegant hand. At noon, her rose had been accompanied by a delicious lunch, homemade and still warm. She was getting quite the little bouquet assembled in the vase on the corner of her desk. She reached out her hand for the flower and envelope, already smelling the faint whiff of fragrance from the perfumed paper.

John gave her a sly smile, holding the items just out of her reach, giving her a look like 'what will you give me?'.

All mirth dropped from Regina's face, her features pinching in dismay. Emma's presence in her life had definitely made her softer in many respects, but John had another thing coming if he thought that her sharpness wasn't right there beneath the surface. She raised one sleek eyebrow, silently asking him if he really wanted to test her.

John just rolled his eyes but he handed over the rose and the envelope.

Her mouth didn't move from its straight line, but inside she was beaming. She took a moment to smile at her new rose before tucking it into the vase with its predecessors. She turned to the envelope, getting ready to open it when she noticed that John was still standing before her desk. She raised her eyes to regard him. "Was there something else?"

He just smiled knowingly and shook his head, turning and exiting the office.

She watched him go, waiting for the door to close. A few seconds after he was gone and she was sure she would remain uninterrupted, she opened the newest envelope, removing the paper from inside and unfolding it. In place of the poetry she'd received most of the day, instead was a letter.

_Dearest Regina,_

_I'm not sure I have the right words to explain what has happened between us these past two months, but I know that I feel at home here, with you. I feel like I fit. I can't remember ever feeling like that before. I'm not sure how I will ever be able to thank you for everything you've given me, including yourself. You've opened up to me, shown me a side of you that no one else gets to see. In a way, I feel like you've shown me a side of you that's... well, mine. I've never really had that. I know I can be closed off and scared; in many ways I am still frightened of this. I have found everything I have always been searching for, but there are consequences to that. I've spent my entire life afraid I'd never find the love I wanted, and now that I have it, I'm terrified that I will one day lose it. But until that day comes, as my gift to you, I am going to put everything I can into this thing we have, because what we have is something special; it deserves to be cherished. I love you Regina. I'm starting to feel like I have always loved you, and I know I always will. Happy Valentine's Day baby._

The words blurred to incomprehensible black swirls as tears obscured her vision. She set the letter down gently on her desk and turned away from it, towards the window. She wiped at the wetness; it wouldn't do to let her emotions show when she had less than an hour before she would be home, before she could pull the blonde into her arms and tell her just how much her words meant to her. Then, and only then, would she let her emotions show. She was still mayor of this town and she still had her image to maintain. She thought of the ring, still being made by the jeweler in Portland. It would be ready soon. She turned her chair and glanced down at the letter. Once it was finished, she would begin to plan her proposal. Just like the ring, it needed to be special.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina stepped into the house, looking around. "Emma? Henry?" She set her purse on the foyer table as she stripped out of her coat and hung it up. There was no answer. She retrieved the letter and poems from her purse and carried them with her as she peeked into the living room from the foyer.

She made her way upstairs, going first towards the family room, where she could see the flashing lights under the door that indicated the television was on. She opened the door to find her son sitting on the couch with someone she didn't expect to see in her house at all. "Miss Blanchard?"

Mary Margaret Blanchard looked up in surprise, tearing her eyes away from, of all things, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, to regard the mayor. "Mayor Mills, you're home! I didn't hear you come in." She jumped up from the couch, looking nervous, dressed in her usual dress and cardigan combo. The woman was nothing if not predictable.

"Where is Miss Swan?" She eyed the woman suspiciously.

"Emma? She's... the note should explain."

Regina's eyes went down to the letters in her hand. "Note?"

"I believe she left it in your room."

Regina raised an eyebrow before glancing at her son, wary of leaving him alone with the schoolteacher to go check her room. Finally she nodded. "I'll be right back." She made her way to the far end of the hall, opening her closed bedroom door. The room was dark inside, lit dimly by the last few rays of the setting sun. There, sitting in the middle of the bed was another rose, perched on top of a sheet of paper.

Smiling to herself, she walked over and picked up the flower, bringing it to her nose to smell it before picking up the note.

_Meet me at the harbour. Wear something nice. Wait, do you even own anything that isn't nice? Just don't come naked. That's for later ;)_

Regina rolled her eyes but couldn't help her widening grin. "Ah Miss Swan, whatever shall I do with you?" She set the rose and the note down on her bedside table, tucking the poems and letters still in her other hand into the small table's drawer. She turned to the open door of her closet and contemplated her vast wardrobe. What to wear? As if her mind were answering the question, her eyes zeroed in on a black dress that seemed to stand out despite being tucked among the other black dresses around it. Perfect.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma edged the toe of her black pumps into the wooden planks of the walkway that led down to the piers. She paced in front of the bench, debating taking a seat to wait. For the ten billionth time in the last fifteen minutes, she opted against it, afraid Regina may not see her if the bench was obscuring part of her body. She knew she should have just met the brunette at home and they could have come out here together. The brunette was probably already in a sour mood from finding Mary Margaret there watching Henry. But Katherine and David had made plans together and she couldn't ask them to forget their night together just so she could have time with Regina.

Headlights passed over her body, stirring her from her thoughts. The sleek black Mercedes pulled to a stop and the engine cut off. A moment later the door opened and Regina stepped out. Black heels gave way to bare legs and then a tight black dress.

Emma's mouth went completely dry. She had overestimated her ability to handle Regina Mills in a tight dress. Flashbacks of the night of their first date and the brunette's purple dress entered her mind. She should have known she was no match for the seductive powers of the mayor's wardrobe.

"You're staring Miss Swan." Regina tried to project confidence but inside she was melting just as much at the sight of the blonde. She had never seen the crimson halter dress before. It looked similar to the iconic white one Marilyn Monroe had worn, though this one was completely backless, the fabric stopping just over the curve of her backside and leaving the smooth pale expanse of her skin bare to the night air. She looked breathtakingly beautiful.

Emma smiled. "I can't help it; beautiful things should be admired." She took a step forward, reaching out and running her fingertips lightly over the black fabric. "You looking stunning."

Regina smiled. "So do you. New dress?"

Emma looked down at her own dress. "Ruby gave it to me."

Regina smirked. "Remind me to leave Miss Lucas a generous tip next time we dine at Granny's."

Emma chuckled to hide the blush that was creeping up her neck. She reached for Regina's hand. "You ready for your surprise?"

Regina nodded. "Lead the way."

Emma grinned and led her down the planked walkway and out onto one of the unsteady piers. It rocked beneath their feet, swaying slightly with the movement of the cold water of the Atlantic beneath its boards. The lights from the waterfront got farther away, casting their path in shadow as they walked further away between dark boats.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Emma glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at the uncertain older woman.

Finally she stopped them in front of the last boat on the dock. She dropped Regina's hand to gesture to the vessel with a flourish. "Ta da!"

A small table for two was set up on the small boat's deck, lit by a few flickering candles. A bottle of wine was being iced to one side. Covered platters sat waiting in front of each place setting. The brunette stared at it all in wonder. "Oh darling."

Emma grinned, grabbing her hand once more to lead her up onto the boat. She pulled out one of the seats and urged the brunette down into it before taking her own.

Regina looked out at the dark water, the reflection of the lights from the waterfront dancing as the liquid moved gently, dancing orbs of light on a sea of midnight. "How did you manage all this?"

"With Ruby's help. The owner of this boat owed her a favour. She had plans of a more private nature today and offered it to me instead for the night. I thought it might be nice to get away without leaving Storybrooke, find a little escape for an evening."

Regina smiled softly at the blonde. "It's amazing. You're amazing." Her eyes fell to the elaborate spread on the table before them and then wandered to the darkness beyond the boat, made all the more thick next to the brightness of the hanging lanterns that had been set up around the perimeter of the boat's deck. It was so intimate, so sweet. "I love you." It was barely a whisper; she hadn't even meant to utter the words aloud.

Emma blushed and stared down at her covered dinner. She had a feeling that, though Regina had said the words several times before, this time they hadn't been meant for her ears. Instead, she indicated the dinner spread before them. "Shall we?"

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A smile curled up one side of Regina's lips as she felt arms wrapping around her from behind. She had been staring out into the darkness beyond the edge of the boat contemplating the black horizon while Emma had taken the empty dishes below deck. She hadn't even heard the blonde approach. She leaned back into the body behind hers. "Thank you for dinner."

Emma smiled into the brunette locks as she pressed a kiss to the back of the mayor's head. "Will you dance with me?" She pressed another kiss just below the older woman's ear.

Regina pulled forward from the embrace so she could turn around and regard the blonde. "We don't have music."

Emma held up a finger and disappeared back below decks. She reemerged less than a minute later holding her phone. She scrolled through her music before selecting a playlist of soft instrumental music she sometimes used to lull herself to sleep on restless nights. She pressed play and set the phone on one of their chairs that she'd moved to the side while she was cleaning the dishes. She moved back over to Regina as the music began to project out from the little device.

Regina smiled when the blonde offered her a hand, taking it and letting herself be pulled into strong arms. She brought her arms up around Emma's neck, pulling in close so she could nuzzle the woman's cheek. Arms slid around her waist as they began to sway to the music. Her lips ghosted across the blonde's jaw. "Miss Swan?"

"Hmm?" Emma's eyes were closed, her head tilted up towards the starry sky.

"Will you be my valentine?" She pressed her face against the soft skin beneath the blonde's ear.

"Mmm, but I was under the impression you'd already promised yourself to a man." Emma finally glanced down at her.

Regina pulled back enough to stare straight into the blonde's face in shock. "I did no such thing! What man?"

Emma shook her head in fake disappointment. "Forgot your paramour already? He's younger, brown hair, hazel eyes, about this high." She held her hand level with her hip. "Goes by the name of Henry Mills. Ringing any bells?"

Regina caught onto the joke. She grinned, resting back in close against the blonde. "Ah, he told you did he?"

"He let it spill to Ruby at the diner and I overheard." She kissed Regina's forehead gently. "So, you're two timing me, huh?" There was no malice in her voice, though she put on a fake tone of seriousness.

"How could I say no to that little face?" She glanced up at the blonde, her pout begging for her forgiveness. "Besides, technically darling, I am his valen_time_."

Emma grinned. "Ah, I see. Well in that case Madam Mayor, I would love to be your valentine." She leaned down and as if sensing her intent, Regina's mouth rose to meet hers in a soft kiss.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: reviews? please.


	35. A False Sense Of Ownership

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: Possessive Regina is about to make an appearance. Enjoy.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 35: A False Sense Of Ownership**

It had been a very long time since Regina could remember feeling this happy and free as they sauntered up the side path to the porch hand in hand, each stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. As Emma stepped up to the stoop, she gave Regina's arm a firm tug, the sudden movement launching the brunette forward and into her arms. Their lips found each other without prompting and they spent several moments kissing, silhouetted in the glow from the porch light.

"I'm not ready for this night to be over." Regina rested her forehead against the blonde's.

"Then I guess it's a good thing it's not over yet." Emma grinned cheekily before stealing another searing kiss. She pulled away to stick her key in the lock, but before she could open the door, Regina was drawing her attention back to dark eyes, molten with barely concealed emotions.

"I love you Emma Swan."

The sheer sincerity with which the statement was delivered gave Emma pause. That small part of her where her fears and abandonment issues still lingered, the part she'd spent the past couple months attempting to bury, drifted briefly to the surface, plaguing her mind with questions meant to complicate and eventually sabotage. It had happened several times in her past, moments where she felt as if she was standing on the precipice before happiness and then she used her fears as an excuse to turn and walk away from the possibility of something good. Her mind rationalised that it was easier to live life as she always had, knowing what to expect, than to trust in the unknown and risk being obliterated if things didn't go as planned. And now she was on that precipice once more. It was leap and risk destruction or keep the ground beneath her feet and have things never change. She knew what she said here, despite what she'd said before, meant more. It was essential.

Staring into Regina's patient brown eyes, she knew that she would take the leap over and over again if it meant she got to stay in this woman's presence. It was preferable to turning around and losing everything she'd gained in the past couple months. Her free hand rose to cup Regina's face. "And I love you Regina Mills." She blushed, her eyes downcasting shyly. "It continues to amaze me just how much."

Regina dipped her head so she could catch the blonde's eyes once more. "You're not the only one who's afraid." She leaned into the blonde's ear. "I'm terrified of how I feel." She pulled back, standing tall once more. "I simply have decided that I am more afraid of being without you than I am of being with you."

The corner of Emma's mouth turned up in a smile as she gazed up at the brunette through her lashes. Without a thought towards doing so, her lips found Regina's once more in a gentle and sweet kiss. "Some days I wonder if this is a dream and one morning I'll wake up back in Boston. But I don't think I could invent something like this, even in my dreams."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"You get the kid and put him to bed, I'll get her."

They were standing in the doorway to the family room, looking at the two people inside. The television was still on low volume, flashing pictures of some cartoon Emma didn't recognise. Henry was sprawled across the couch, one leg hanging off the cushion and dangling down, the tips of his toes stretching towards the floor. A throw was draped over his back and head, shielding his sleeping head from their view. Mary Margaret was sitting at the other end of the couch, her body leaning against the arm rest, her lips parted as she slept, the remote sitting on the cushion next to her.

Regina had her lip curled up in disgust at the sight of her enemy so casually asleep in her house with her son as if it were her place to be there. Her instincts were telling her to run the woman out as fast as she could. But she knew Emma had formed a friendship, despite her best efforts to the contrary, with the schoolteacher and she knew her girlfriend wouldn't appreciate it if she were in any way rude to the woman. "Very well. I'll go tuck him in. I expect you to have said your goodbyes and be in our bed by the time I'm done." She placed an open mouthed kiss on the soft skin beneath the blonde's ear. "Do not keep me waiting Miss Swan." She pulled away and moved into the room, gently pulling the throw from Henry's head and scooping him up into her arms. She gave Emma a pointed look as she carried him past her and out of the open door.

Emma watched them go before she stepped forward, putting a hand down on the schoolteacher's shoulder and shaking lightly. "Mary Margaret."

The pixie haired woman awoke with a start, sitting up fast, her head whipping from side to side as if looking for an attack. "Henry?"

"Regina's putting him to bed."

Mary Margaret's green eyes focused, looking up at the blonde. Realising that Emma was back, signaling her date with the mayor must be at an end, she stood. "Oh, you're back. Have a good time?"

Emma nodded, leaning down to grab the remote and using it to switch off the television. "It was wonderful."

As if sensing she was no longer needed, the schoolteacher moved towards the door. "We're still on for our lunch on Tuesday right?"

Emma followed her out of the room, shutting off the light as they exited and headed for the stairs. "Yea, I'll be there."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It didn't take long to get the brunette out the door and lock it behind her. She watched her through the window to the side of the door until she was in her car before she switched off the porch light and turned back, heading upstairs.

The door to their bedroom was open. She hadn't beat Regina after all. Oh well. It had been an unfair request anyway, Regina's charge had been unconscious, hers hadn't. She stepped through the door, closing it behind her.

Arms encircled her waist before she could even turn around, pulling her back against a warm body. "I was starting to get lonely Miss Swan; I thought you'd never get up here."

Emma rolled her eyes at the pout in the older woman's voice. She knew Regina was just poking fun. "Impatient, are we?" She felt Regina's smirk against her flesh as the older woman kissed the juncture between her neck and shoulder.

"Mmm, very." She nipped the flesh gently.

Emma turned around in the embrace.

Regina took a step back to allow the movement but kept her arms wound gently around the blonde. The second the woman was facing her, not one to let opportunity go to waste, she brought their lips together in a soft but possessive kiss. She backed up towards the bed, dragging the blonde with her, never once breaking the contact of their mouths. She felt the edge of the mattress press firmly against the back of her thighs and she sat.

Emma breathed deeply as the brunette's position pulled their lips apart. She stared down into dark eyes before her gaze wandered down to kiss swollen lips. She didn't even realised she'd lifted her hand until she saw her trembling fingers tracing the fullness of the older woman's pout.

Regina's hand wrapped around the blonde's thin wrist, bringing the soft flesh to her lips. She could feel the pulse there fluttering happily against her lips. She pulled softly on the limb, urging the woman down onto her lap.

Emma obliged the silent request, bracketing the brunette's legs with her own. She had a height advantage in this position and she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the forehead in front of her.

Regina tilted her head up to gaze into green eyes. Her hands slid absentmindedly up and down Emma's thighs, stroking the smooth flesh as she once more captured the blonde's mouth. She was quite sure what she felt for this woman was some kind of addiction; Emma was her drug of choice, the one vice she couldn't seem to shake. She was enthralled, obsessed and experience taught her that she should be far more afraid of this insatiable need than she was. It felt comfortable, almost familiar, like she'd known this hunger for far longer than the mere two months they'd shared together. It sustained her, it was warm, it was home.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Knock, knock." Emma peeked into the garage that served as Marco's workshop. Pieces of varying shaped boards littered the workspace, occupying the top of the work bench as well as any other flat surface. Sawdust dusted the concrete floor, a broom that was obviously not used often enough leaning discarded against the wall next to the staircase that led up to the apartment above the shop. Neither Marco nor his new assistant were anywhere in sight.

She adjusted Henry on her hip and took a step into the room. The second she broke the threshold, Marco seemed to materialise out of nowhere.

"Welcome, deputy." He smiled warmly at both of them.

Henry, ever the friendly one despite his sheltered existence, waved at the middle-aged carpenter.

"And hello to you too, little friend."

Emma smiled as he shook Henry's hand as if this were some formal greeting. The little boy in her arms grinned, liking that he was being treated like an adult, every kid's secret pleasure.

"Is Mr. Booth around?" She still hadn't properly thanked him for saving her. "I'd like to treat him to lunch at Granny's if he's not too busy. The little man here was craving a milkshake."

Henry nodded enthusiastically, before leaning towards Marco and lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Granny's has the best milkshakes."

Marco nodded, putting a finger to his lips in a gesture to show he understood the importance of keeping that a secret. Wouldn't want the other diners in town (that didn't exist) to get jealous. He turned his smile back to Emma. "He's upstairs. I get him for you." He held up a finger, indicating she should wait there and then walked back over to the bottom of the stairs. "August!"

Emma's body tensed. August? She was struck with the same sense of deja vu she'd felt the day she'd first met her rescuer, the day she'd fell from the bridge. She knew that name, just like she'd known his face. The knowledge knawed at the back of her mind, just out of her reach. August. It was familiar to her. Where had she heard that name before?

The door at the top of the stairs opened and August peeked his head out. Ignorant of the audience, he looked down at Marco. "Yea?"

Marco gestured with his head toward their guests. "There is a young lady here to see you?"

August followed the gesture with his eyes until he focused on Emma and the boy in her arms. "Emma?" He opened the door and fully stepped out. He was dressed in distressed jeans and a basic black cotton tee. It hugged close to his body, highlighting decently sized muscles. Once she might have been tempted by the sight, but now she didn't give it more than a cursory glance. He leaned over the wooden bannister and regarded the blonde. "What are you doing here?"

"Henry and I would like to invite you to lunch at Granny's." She looked around at the unfished projects strewn across the shop. "If you're not busy of course."

August glanced down at Marco, an eyebrow raised in question.

Marco waved off the request for permission. "Go. Go. Have lunch with the lady. I managed just fine all these years on my own; I think I can handle an hour without you."

August grinned at the man before turning his attention back to Emma. "Give me a moment, I'll be right down."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina sighed as she looked between the mound of paperwork on her desk and the clock. She rubbed her temples with an aggravated sigh. It seems she'd be working through lunch if she wanted to get everything in order before she went home. She couldn't leave these petitions unaddressed all weekend and she had been hoping to take Emma to Boston for the February meeting tomorrow. She couldn't go if these weren't finished by the time she left tonight; she'd have to work.

She picked up the phone and punched in the number for Granny's. At least she could ring in her order and send John to pick it up. That would save time, meaning maybe she'd actually get home before midnight.

The cheery voice of Ruby Lucas answered after three rings. "Granny's."

"Miss Lucas, this is Mayor Mills. I'm rather swamped at work and I'd like my usual, prepared to go. I'll send my assistant over to pick it up in twenty minutes."

"If that's too much trouble, I can ask Emma to bring it by after she's done with lunch. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Regina frowned. Emma hadn't said anything about going to Granny's for lunch. "Emma's there? Is Henry with her?"

"Yea, he's here too. They came in to have lunch with August."

"August?" The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't seem to place where she'd heard it before.

"Yea, you know, August Booth, new guy in town."

Regina felt the first flame of anger and jealousy ignite. She tried not to let it show. "No, dear, no need to have her bring it here. It appears my lunch hour has just cleared; I'll be right over to pick it up myself. Wouldn't want to disrupt Miss Swan's lunch date after all."

Ruby was about to say that she was sure it would be no trouble at all, but the mayor had already hung up. She stared at the phone for a moment before putting it back in its cradle. Had the mayor sounded mad? She glanced over at the table where the blonde and August were chatting. It was all very friendly, no intimacy involved, and yet Ruby had a sinking feeling that Storybrooke's illustrious mayor had read the situation slightly different. And now she was coming over. She bit her lip. This could get ugly.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma watched as Henry spun yet another round on the stool at the front counter, the half empty old fashioned glass containing his milkshake before him. "I forgot what it's like to have a child on a sugar-high. Hopefully he calms down by dinner." She sighed and turned back to the barely touched food on her plate, contemplating the meal before pushing it away from her.

August watched the move but decided not to comment. He knew exactly why she didn't have the appetite. "I suppose the mayor won't be too happy if he's bouncing off the walls all evening."

Emma nodded. "He runs out of steam so quickly and she always worries when he over-exerts himself. But the way I figure it, he's five; we need to let him **be** five."

"You're a good mother to him Emma."

A barely noticeable smile touched her lips at the compliment, but she quickly suppressed it and shook her head. "He's very easy to love; he makes things easy for me. Besides, I'm not... he's not mine."

Ruby suddenly appeared next to their table, a nervous glint in her eye. Before Emma could inquire about it, the younger woman spoke. "Need a box Em? You've barely touched your lunch."

Emma nodded. "Yea, thanks."

Ruby turned on her heel and booked it back towards the counter.

"Is it just me, or does she seem slightly jumpy?"

Emma's brow was furrowed as she nodded, her eyes not leaving the brunette. "Yea. It's almost as if she's trying to get us out of here fast." She glanced around the almost empty diner. "It's not like she needs the booth." She turned back to August and shrugged.

Her answer came less than a minute later when the bell over the door jangled, signaling a new patron. Emma, with her back to the door, didn't bother to turn and look. Living in the city, as she had for the majority of her life, you learn to tune out those kind of sounds. Cities were all about anonymity; that was the life she thrived in. Eight weeks in a small town hadn't yet reshaped her learned behaviours. She still had yet to assimilate into the small town citizen's propensity to always be curious, always look for the latest scandal, desperate to be the one with the juiciest piece of gossip.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as Henry shouted across the diner.

"Momma!" The little boy climbed down from the stool and rushed over to the brunette, hugging her legs happily.

Regina frowned at the chocolate smeared around his little mouth, evidence that his lunch had been less than nutritious. One glance up to the glass on the counter confirmed her suspicions. She took his hand and led him back over to his stool, lifting him up onto it. "Miss Lucas, a glass of water."

Ruby rushed to comply, returning in just a few seconds with a glass of ice water.

Regina grabbed it without a word, dipping the end of a napkin into the glass and then using the wet cloth to wipe the mess from her son's face.

Emma had been stunned into silence by the mayor's sudden appearance. The waitress must have known she was coming and that's why she'd been trying to rush Emma and August out. She sighed; she really didn't want a confrontation. She glanced apologetically at August. "I'll be right back."

She slid out of the booth and approached the brunette. "I didn't know you were going to be able to get away for lunch. We could have gone somewhere together."

Regina ignored her while she finished cleaning Henry's face. Once she was done, she crumpled up the dirty napkin, setting it beside the water glass before she leant in and pressed a kiss to the top of Henry's head. When she finally turned to regard the blonde, it was with a tight-lipped smile. "Well, why don't I join you now?" Without waiting for an answer, she moved past Emma and slid into her side of their booth.

Emma had no choice but to follow, sliding into the spot beside her.

Regina's gaze was laser precise, burning into the man sitting on the other side of the table. "Mr. Booth."

"Mayor Mills, always a pleasure." His tone was neutral, giving no indication that any sort of pleasure existed in their brief scattering of encounters since his arrival in town.

Regina gave him her politician's smile. "I'd like to thank you for keeping my girlfriend entertained. I'm afraid I was delayed."

August's expression hadn't shifted in the least, it was still blank, neutral, giving nothing away. "I wasn't aware you were invited. I don't think Emma was aware either."

Emma caught it then, a muscle in his jaw that twitched, giving away his displeasure. He did not like Regina, and a quick glance at her girlfriend just confirmed that the dislike was indeed mutual.

Regina glared at him for a moment before her smile returned, dripping with just as much venom as before. "I assure you, Mr. Booth, that Emma and I spend lunch together anytime my work allows for me to get away." To punctuate how okay she thought Emma was with her presence, she leaned in, pressing her lips possessively against Emma's.

The blonde knew that Regina was just trying to rankle the man sitting across from them, but she didn't like the sudden feeling that began to fill her. The brunette was marking territory, treating her like property. No one owned her. She pushed up from the seat. "Excuse me, I need some air." She turned from them, looking at Henry. "I'll be right back kid, okay? Mind your mom." He nodded and she had to use all her willpower to not make a run for the door. Instead, she kept her pace controlled, breathing a long sigh of relief as she stepped outside.

Regina watched the blonde go in confusion.

"She's not a possession Regina; that's something you've never understood and I'm starting to believe you never will." August's tone was accusatory and his eyes were narrowed when Regina finally returned her glare to him.

Regina felt a pang of guilt, though she kept any indication of it from the man across from her. She didn't like him and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd gotten to her. "You know nothing about myself, Miss Swan, or the nature of our relationship. I am grateful for your assistance a month ago Mr. Booth. Without you, who knows what would have happened to Emma. But do not mistake my gratitude as an invitation into my life. You are unwelcome."

"That's exactly the kind of attitude that's going to make her run again. You are single-minded, always looking out for number one." He stood. "Emma invited me here to lunch. I've kept my distance; she came to me." He grabbed his jacket from the seat and slipped it on. "You're going to lose her if you don't learn to respect her choices." He gave her one final glance, one of pity, and then he strode out with a quick wave to Ruby and Henry.

Regina's brow furrowed, August's parting words ringing a chord in her. It was as if he knew something she didn't. But that was impossible. He'd only met her a month ago.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared at the bag sitting on her bed, trying to go over everything in her head and making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She glanced at the clock. Regina was late, no doubt her impromptu appearance at lunch had put her behind for the day. Good, it gave her time to think on what to say when the woman got home.

After she'd seen August leave, stopping only long enough to thank her for lunch and requesting they do it again some other time, she'd gone back inside only long enough to pay Ruby and collect Henry. Regina hadn't tried to stop her departure, only told her they'd talk when she got home from work that night.

She didn't know what she'd say when they were alone. She couldn't seem to gather her thoughts. She'd avoided relationships since her child had been born. It had been far too long since she'd had to deal with feelings like this. Part of her felt she was foolish for thinking she'd be able to just forget the walls she'd so carefully built and be able to open up to someone. Relationships were meant for people less damaged than herself.

The front door opened, jarring her from her musings. She steeled herself and walked out of the guest room where most of her things still were, walking to the rail and peering over. The brunette looked exhausted as she hung up her coat.

Regina sensed the eyes on her, but she wanted to wait a moment before she turned. She didn't want to fight with Emma, she never did, but she had a sinking feeling that this was heading in that direction. She had spent all afternoon brooding over her actions. While she didn't regret showing up at the diner, she knew she shouldn't have laid claim to Emma as if she were something to own. But could she bring herself to admit that she'd been wrong? And even if she did, would Emma even listen? She had no idea what kind of mood the younger woman was in. She had barely said anything before she'd left the diner; she'd given Regina no indication of how she had felt.

Finally, unable to delay any longer, she closed the coat closet and looked up to the second floor. Blank green eyes stared back at her, still giving nothing away.

Emma pursed her lips. "How was your day?"

"Is that really what you want to ask me?" She indicated the parlour with a tilt of her head as invitation.

Emma walked around to the top of the stairs and descended. She followed the older woman into the parlour and shut the door before putting as much distance as she could between her and the brunette. She took a seat on the edge of one couch nearest the cold fireplace.

"Would you care for a drink?" Regina was already pouring a generous one for herself.

"No, I'm... no, thank you."

Regina took a few sips of her alcohol before she sighed. "I am sorry Emma, for how I treated you today. I called Miss Lucas to tell her I was sending John to retrieve my lunch and when she told me you were there with Mr. Booth, I..." She clenched the glass tighter, finding the words hard. "I don't like to share." She glanced over at the blonde before moving to sit on the opposite end of the couch. "I was jealous." The truth was bitter as it left her mouth and she grimaced.

Emma nodded. "I know."

Regina stared down into her glass. "Are you terribly cross with me?"

Emma bit her lip, looking into the empty fireplace as if some magic fire would all of a sudden spring up and tell her exactly what she was feeling. "No." She ran a hand through her hair. "You know that you have nothing to be jealous of, right? My interest in August isn't romantic in any way. He did something very brave, something that possibly saved my life and I don't want to toss him aside as if that means nothing. He deserves my consideration and my gratitude. Beyond that, there's nothing more that has or will ever go on between us."

"When we were interviewing him, after the accident, he said he had met you before. He wouldn't say when or where, just that he had. I thought maybe... he was an old lover and that you were just afraid to mention. He would only say that he had come to town on personal business. I couldn't help coming to the conclusion that he was here for you." She took a large pull of her drink.

Emma felt this new information settle heavily on her shoulders. August hadn't said a thing the whole time they were together. She'd felt it, that sense that she'd seen him somewhere before, but she'd just written it off as some misguided deja vu. "He's not an old lover. I've never really done lovers, until you." She turned to look at the brunette still staring down into her lap where her glass was resting on her thigh. "Why he's here doesn't change that I have no interest in him beyond friendship. I don't like feeling like property Regina."

The brunette's eyes shot up to meet green. "Is that how you think I think of you? As my _property_?"

"That's how you treated me today, like I was some toy to be fought over."

Regina felt her heart lurch at the look of pure hurt on the blonde's face. She set her glass down on the table and slid over beside the blonde, a hand going to the other woman's cheek. "No, darling, you are not a toy. I don't think that."

Emma closed her eyes and gave a small nod. "I know. I understand why you did what you did." She took a deep breath. "I think I should get out of the house for a couple days. I already called Mary Margaret; she said I can crash at her place for the weekend."

Regina shook her head, her hand falling from Emma's cheek to grip at the blonde's waist. "Emma. We've come so far, don't take a step back now." She pulled the younger woman closer. "Please, don't go. We'll go to Boston tomorrow, get away from town. We can stay overnight, reconnect."

Emma bit her lip, that same internal war raging inside of her. On one hand, her heart was telling her that running was cowardly, especially after she had promised Regina that she would try. But on the other, her head was telling her that the brunette was trying to trap her, fence her in. And everything in her, every experience she'd ever had was screaming at her to get out while she still had the chance, before she was in too deep. But then her heart fought back once more, saying she already was. She looked into pleading brown eyes. Regina, beautiful Regina. She felt such a draw to her, an inescapable need to be around her. But that was so dangerous, a contradiction of everything she stood for. Finally she sighed. "Okay."

Regina let out a sigh of relief. She wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her into an embrace. "I will try to rein in my jealousy going forward. I need to maintain such control in Henry's life, always on guard, always watching. It has been so long since I've allowed someone into my life who can take care of themselves. Sometimes I forget that you can make your own decisions." She pulled back so she could look into green eyes. "But I will always be protective of you; I can't promise to stop that. You are mine Miss Swan, not my property, but I believe you belong here, with me and Henry. And I will always take care of my own."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: I have an important appointment today and I would love to come back to some good reviews, they might smooth over the possible bad news. I will have the next update posted as soon as possible. I'm thinking of taking this to an even 50 chapters, but we'll see. and dreams will make a return in the next couple chapters.


	36. Catch And Release

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: the dreams are back!

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

**Chapter 36: Catch And Release**

Emma sat there, staring into the last dying embers of the fire she'd built hours ago in the fireplace of the parlour. She swirled the small few sips of liquid that remained in the bottom of the crystal tumbler around the glass absentmindedly. She hadn't moved much from the spot all night, only once to retrieve the decanter of scotch after Regina had retired upstairs to check on Henry and take a shower before bed. That had been an hour or two, maybe even four, she'd stopped paying attention to the passing time, too wrapped up in her thoughts. Was she weak because she'd stayed? She'd caved and easily at that. She'd basically shown Regina that her behaviour had no real consequence. She'd let the brunette see that with a touch to the cheek and the batting of eyelashes, her bad behaviour would be excused. It seemed like she'd almost let her get away with it, something she'd promised herself she'd never let happen again. She didn't like being treated as a possession. But, on the other hand, if she had left, the consequences of that could have been far worse. Not only would she have created rifts in her relationship, but it would have seemed weak in its own right. The weakness born from running from your problems.

She closed her eyes, biting her bottom lip. Why weren't the answers more clear? You're whole life, you're taught the lessons that are supposed to prepare you for life. How come they never teach **this**? They teach you how to have a career, how to exist comfortably, but they never teach you how to _live_. At least not in any school she'd been to.

"Are you coming to bed?"

Her eyes snapped open. She turned to look toward the doorway of the parlour almost reluctantly, guilty that the decanter was sitting suspiciously less full on the table before her and that she'd lingered so long, the embers in the fire having expired without her notice. Her guilt only doubled when she saw the look on Regina's face, a mixture of fear, fragility, and concern.

"I'll be right up."

Regina pulled her silk robe more tightly around herself, looking like she wanted to linger, as if she didn't trust Emma to follow on her own. Finally she nodded. She turned and went back upstairs.

Emma grabbed the decanter and replaced it on the sidebar, out of Henry's reach. She moved out into the foyer and then into the kitchen corridor, going into the dark room and depositing her glass in the sink. She rested her hands on either side of the sink, taking a deep breath. She'd made the right decision by staying; she had to believe that or she would drive herself crazy with the wondering.

She made sure all the lights were off downstairs and the doors were locked before she trudged, step by step, up to the second floor. All the lights were off and the doors closed, save the open door at the end of the corridor, lit dimly from the low light of one of the bedside lamps. Regina was waiting up for her.

She stepped inside, closing the door before turning to the bed. Regina had shed her silk robe and was propped up in bed in the matching negligee, the duvet tucked up to her lap. She had a book sitting on her lap, though it was unopened.

Emma, still dressed since she had intended to spend the night elsewhere, undressed quickly, striping down to her bra and underwear. She didn't bother with pajamas, just climbed into her side of the bed, propping herself likewise against the pillows on her own side.

Regina set her book back on the bedside table. "You would have stayed down there til dawn if I hadn't come to get you."

It wasn't a question but the blonde felt compelled to deny it. But she hesitated before the words passed her lips. She didn't want to lie and the truth was that she had been unaware of the passage of time. The clock in the kitchen had told her it was after two. She could have easily sat there in the parlour until six when the sun would have finally pulled her from her stupor. "Possibly."

Regina sighed. "Do you still want to go to Miss Blanchard's?"

Emma shook her head, sliding down under the duvet to lay down. "No. I never did."

Regina turned off the lamp beside her before laying down herself, turning towards the blonde.

Emma turned on her side, facing Regina. She scooted closer to snuggle against the brunette's chest, wedging the top of her head underneath the older woman's chin. She didn't want to talk about this. She'd heard Regina's apology and she'd accepted it; she just needed to come to terms with that decision in her own mind. She needed to quell the fear bubbling up inside, the tide of uncertainty that warned her that emotions like this were dangerous, that she was violating rules that she'd put in place for a reason long ago. She pressed a kiss to the woman's sternum, nuzzling her nose against the flesh and trying to clear her mind.

Regina wrapped her arms around the lean woman pressed against her, holding her close, almost fearing her pulling away again. She hadn't lied when she'd told Emma that it had been a very long time since she'd had anyone in her life who could do things for themselves. At home, she was a mother. It was her role in the house and she put all she was into it. Taking care of her son was priority number one. But in career as well, she was the one who made the decisions. She told people whether they could build on their land and the hours they could run their establishments and how much money was in the budget for repairs. If there was a pothole on Bleeker, it was up to her to rally the resources to have it filled. She was a doer and a decision maker. It was her role and she wore it well. It was hard to part that frame of mind from bleeding into her relationship with the woman in her arms. So small, so fragile, so broken, hiding away from the world. It was hard not to want to protect her, to keep her safe from that world she feared so much. But there was a line between protection and possession, a thin one, and she needed to learn the difference, and quickly, before she lost her.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

It wasn't a common occurrence in the short tenure of their relationship, but Regina was the first to wake come Saturday morning. She wasn't surprised after Emma's late night that she had beat the blonde to rouse. The younger woman was still tucked against her body just as tightly as she had been when they'd fallen only four hours prior. Not wanting to break their peaceable silence quite yet, not ready to see the uncertainty return to the blonde's eyes for a little while longer, she buried her face in the golden locks at the crown of the blonde's head, inhaling the sweet scent of Emma's shampoo.

She only got another five minutes peace before she saw the bedroom door slowly inch open and a head with sleep mussed brown hair peeked around the edge. Henry had always seemed to be able to sense when she was up. She met his hazel gaze, putting a finger to her lips.

He repeated the gesture to let her know he understood. He tiptoed across the room and climbed silently up onto the opposite side of bed. He edged across the mattress on his knees to where Emma was with her back to him and her face still buried against Regina's neck. He leaned over with studying eyes, trying to determine that the blonde was truly asleep. Once he decided she was indeed asleep, he got a huge grin on his face, sticking his arms straight up in the air, as if he were on an invisible roller coaster, and fell forward. "Timber!" He crashed forward onto the unsuspecting blonde.

Regina jumped back just enough to avoid the assault. She had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh as Emma shot up with wide, alert eyes, her hands up in front of her in a pose fit for some cheesy kung fu movie. Her chest heaved with the shock of being suddenly pulled from sleep. Her eyes skimmed over the situation, taking in what had happened as she saw Henry splattered across her torso. But then her eyes turned on Regina, still trying to hide her laugh behind a manicured hand, and they narrowed. Regina sobered up, knowing by the look on the blonde's face that she was going to be blamed for this despite her innocence. She offered the blonde a sweet smile that was meant to convey _'I'm too cute to be murdered'_. "Good morning darling."

Emma's eyes lost their malice, her face unscrunching only to fall into an expression of exhaustion. She fell back down against the pillow with an audible _thwomp_ and a small groan of protest, mumbling something about "too early".

Regina leaned in to press a kiss to the temple not buried against the fluffy pillow. "Oh my _poor_ darling." Her tone was indulgent, as if she were speaking to a child.

Emma grimaced and turned her head to peek up into brown eyes from her pillow hideaway. She shot up and pecked Regina's lips, her grimace never leaving.

Henry, not content to be completely ignored, made a face and scoffed in childlike disgust.

Regina glanced over and grinned at him. "Oh you don't like that?" She waited for the adamant shake of his little head before she buried her face against Emma's cheek, knowing that from his angle it would appear like lip to lip contact, and proceeded to make exaggerated smooching noises.

Now it was Emma's turn to stifle a laugh as Henry let out another sound of disgust, louder this time, before scrambling off Emma and crawling over to tackle Regina.

Regina, wrapping her arms around him too suddenly for him to move away, trapping him within an embrace and began tickling him.

He screeched in delight, his little legs thrashing as he fought the hold. "Emma, save me! Save me!"

Emma looked at the brunette, her expression going serious. "I will ask you to unhand the Prince of Storybrooke."

Regina shook her head. "If he's Prince, that makes me Queen, does it not? Queen trumps Prince."

Emma looked at a still squirming Henry, shrugging. "She's got a point."

"No, Emma, save meeeeeeee!"

Regina looked at the blonde with a conspiratorial glint in her eye. "If you can't beat 'em..."

Emma grinned. "Join 'em." She jumped in, tickling the bottom of Henry's feet.

He squealed and fought all the harder, protesting to them both but smiling with merriment the whole time.

It took nearly ten minutes of tickle torture, but Henry was finally able to break free as his mother and Emma began to tire. He crawled to the other corner of the bed, putting a safe distance between himself and the two women.

Regina wiggled her fingers after him in mock threat, a smile on her face.

He slid over the edge of the bed and onto the floor, running out the bedroom door.

Emma watched him go. Once she heard his footsteps on the stairs, she turned back to Regina. The brunette was also watching the open door Henry had just disappeared through, an unrestrained smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. Emma felt as if a chord was struck in her heart, some invisible force inside her plucking it like the strings of a harp. _God, I love her_. Just that simple, calming truth, resonating throughout herself. She smiled before leaning in.

Regina saw movement out of her peripherals and turned just in time for soft lips to meet hers. The kiss was firm but not desperate, hungry but not ravenous, soft but not weak, in one word, it was perfect. She knew in that moment that she was truly forgiven. It was a moment she would be happy to linger in forever.

Emma was the reluctant breaker of the moment, pulling away for a breath before stealing a string of smaller kisses. "I have to stop myself before we end up spending all day in bed."

Regina smiled against her lips. "I wouldn't object."

"But the Prince of Storybrooke would." Emma pulled back to look into brown eyes.

Regina sighed. "Ah yes, His Highness. He mustn't be ignored." She stole one final kiss before flipping the duvet off herself and sliding out of bed. "I'll make breakfast; you shower."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma stared out the window of their hotel room, looking out over the city of Boston and the sparkling water beyond. She wasn't sure she would ever become accustomed to this elevated way of life that Regina seemed to fit so seamlessly into. She was the back alley bar, dilapidated apartment building, night dweller type. She always had been. Girls like her didn't touch this lifestyle; she'd known her place in society early. She'd always been okay with sub-par; it suited her just fine.

Arms slid around her waist and a chin rested on her shoulder. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Emma smiled. "I was just thinking how this is a beautiful view."

"Mmm." Regina hummed her agreement. "But it's nothing compared to the view in here." She pressed a delicate kiss to the soft skin of the blonde's neck.

If it had been anyone else dropping a line like that, she would have rolled her eyes and told them where to shove their one-liners. But from Regina all it brought was a slight flush to her cheeks. Her arms slid over the ones around her abdomen, holding them there. She turned her head so she could snag a kiss from the full lips of the woman behind her. "I couldn't agree more."

Regina smirked, walking them backwards toward the massive king sized bed that dominated the suite.

Emma let herself be led until they were almost to the bed before she pulled from the older woman's grasp, shaking her head. "We can't. We have the meeting in less than an hour."

Regina only hesitated for a second before reaching for Emma, pulling her closer. "There'll be another one next month." She kissed Emma deeply, trying to coax the younger woman's mouth open by running her tongue over the blonde's lips.

Emma knew if she gave in, they would never make it back out of this room. She forced herself to pull away.

Regina pouted.

Emma kissed away the pout. "It's tradition." And then she said the one thing she knew would sway the brunette to her way of thinking. "It's where we met."

Regina sighed. "Fine, fine. I suppose I can behave for the duration of group." Her hands slid over Emma's hips drawing the woman back in close. "But we don't have to leave just yet." Her hands wrapped around, moving over the blonde's ass, squeezing it through her jeans. She smirked as she attacked her mouth again.

This time, Emma couldn't find it in her to object. She'd give Regina a quick heated snog, as long as their clothes stayed on.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"Emma, so good to see you again!" Gaby grinned. She excused herself from the man she'd been talking to and made her way over to the two women who'd just entered hand in hand. "Regina." She nodded to the brunette. Her bright eyes dropped to their entwined hands, unable to hide her smile. "Things are going well I see."

Regina's mind flashed back to the hotel room they'd just left, where they'd been on the bed, kissing deeply and caressing each other through their clothes. She smirked. "Very well thank you."

Emma saw Cheryl across the room. The second the cheery woman caught sight of her, she waved the young blonde over, frantically flapping her hand towards herself to beckon the younger woman. She looked at Regina, giving her hand an apologetic squeeze. "I'll be right back." She looked at Gaby. "Excuse me a moment." She let go of Regina's hand and walked off toward the older lady.

Gaby watched her go for several moments before turning back to Regina, smiling knowingly. "I always told you that this group would be good for you, didn't I?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "It was doing well for me long before she came into the picture." Regina smiled. "She was just an added blessing."

Gaby glanced over her shoulder at where Emma was smiling politely as Cheryl regaled her with one of her many tales, no doubt about the joys of gardening or crafting or knitting. Somehow she had known. She had seen it in both their eyes during that first meeting. It had only been confirmed when Emma had shown up at the hospital that night because of Henry. These women were in love. She turned back to Regina. "She's definitely a keeper."

Regina watched her girlfriend from across the room. "I certainly plan to keep her. Forever."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Regina's body seemed to hum with energy as she drove them towards the restaurant where they were having dinner.

"Are you going to tell me what that call was all about?" Emma glanced at the stoic brunette behind the wheel. She had slunk out of the group earlier to answer a call that she had insisted couldn't wait. Emma had immediately been terrified that something had happened to Henry. But when Regina had returned several minutes later, there had been no sign of alarm on her face whatsoever. She'd actually been quite calm, eerily calm almost. But she'd been deep in thought ever since. It was starting to make Emma nervous.

"Over dinner darling. We shouldn't be in a moving vehicle while discussing this."

Emma's brow furrowed. "Henry **is** okay, right?"

Regina nodded, glancing over at the blonde just long enough to flash her a reassuring smile. "Henry is perfectly alright my dear." She reached over, stroking her fingers in circle patterns over the blonde's jean clad thigh. "Patience love."

Emma smirked, trying not to let show on her face how that hand on her thigh was making her stomach do a full gymnastics floor routine. "If this afternoon was anything to go by, I seem to recall I wasn't the one pouting because she couldn't get in my pants. I do think one of us is impatient baby, however, I do not think it's me."

Regina snatched her hand back under the guise of needing to make a left turn at the light. "Then you should have no problem waiting until dinner to hear my news. Since you're the patient one and all." The corner of her mouth turned up in amusement as she heard Emma huff. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the blonde sink in her seat, cross her arms across her chest, and turning her head to look out the window.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma pushed her pasta around on her plate as she reached for the glass of wine beside her plate. She'd never really considered herself much of a wine drinker, but Regina was helping her earn a healthy appreciation for the stuff. Regina had called her out about her patience and, not wanting to lose the argument, she'd spent the last hour waiting at the brunette's mercy to hear what the phone call had been about.

Regina watched Emma from her side of their intimate table, enjoying every moment of the torture her silence was inflicting on her girlfriend. Emma was trying desperately not to let it show, but Regina could practically see the impatience bubbling beneath the surface.

Emma had learned early not to show her cards. No matter what she could not, would not break. Regina could withhold the information all she liked but she wouldn't beg the woman to tell her.

Regina could see Emma's determination and she decided to acquiesce first. "I have good news." She bit her lip, the excitement from earlier when she'd first gotten the call coming back full force.

Emma's head snapped up. She dropped her fork and leaned in just a little bit closer.

Regina smiled excitedly. "It was difficult, but my lawyer pulled a few strings. We found him Emma."

Emma's brow furrowed. For a long moment she didn't comprehend what was being said to her. Then, slowly, realisation dawned on her. They'd found **him**. Her son. They knew where her baby was.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

"You're so very quiet, darling." Regina closed the door to their hotel room behind them, watching the younger woman closely. Emma hadn't said much since she told her the news. She certainly hadn't reacted in the way Regina had thought she would. She had a few more bites of her dinner and finished her wine and then had sat patiently waiting for the brunette to finish her own meal and say they could go. The drive back to the hotel had been even quieter.

Emma sat on the edge of the bed, tucking her suddenly cold hands between her thighs to warm them up. She blew out a breath. "Did your lawyer speak with his adoptive parents?"

"Not directly. He was able to find your case worker from the adoption agency. She remembered you, your case. When our situation was explained, she agreed to meet with us. She will only speak with us." Regina came and crouched in front of Emma, smiling up at her. "We're so close darling."

Emma stared down into Regina's beaming brown eyes, her smiling face, and she felt a kind of clarity wash over her. This was wrong. She shook her head. "No."

Regina frowned. "No? No what?"

"No to all of it." Emma stood, moving towards the window to look once more out at Boston, now alive in light in the darkness.

Regina stood. "I... I'm not sure I understand."

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know you don't. I love my son Regina. There isn't a day that passes that I don't think about him. Is he happy? Does he have all the things he needs in life? Is he smart? Does he look like me?" She felt a tear escape and slide down her cheek. "Do they love him as much as I do?"

"You can _know_ all those answers." Regina took a step towards the blonde, reaching out for her.

"No! It's not right Regina. I gave him up. I did that. Maybe it was my biggest mistake, maybe it was the greatest gift I have ever given. I will never know. But I do know that somewhere out there, wherever he is, he has a mom, just like me. She does not deserve to have her world turned upside down." Emma's eyes snapped open and she turned toward the brunette. "You know what she _does_ deserve? A fucking _medal_. And peace, she deserves that too."

Regina sighed. "Listen Emma, I know better than most the ins and outs of the adoption process. If Henry's birth mother wanted to all of a sudden be a part of his life, I'm not sure I would be able to even handle it, let alone allow it to happen. But I would at least grant her the courtesy of knowing that he's had a good life. I could allow her that much."

"Henry's _adopted_?" Emma felt her world spin on its axis. She reached out for anything to grab onto to stabalise herself and was grateful when her hand found the back on the desk chair. She clutched onto like a lifeline, afraid her knees would give out otherwise.

"I thought you knew."

Emma shook her head. "No, no, I would have remembered hearing that." She closed her eyes, shaking her head to try and clear it. "When? How?"

Regina bit her lip. She walked over to the bed and sat down, looking at the blonde. "Come, sit with me. I think it's about time you heard my story, my slightly tragic history as it were. Come." She patted the spot beside her for emphasis and held out a hand to the blonde.

Emma took a deep breath and walked over to the bed. Instead of sitting next to Regina, she walked around to the other side and crawled up, leaning back against the headboard. Noticing the brunette was regarding her dejectedly, hurt by the refusal, she held open her arms.

Regina fell into the offered embrace gratefully. She hadn't intentionally left out the fact that Henry was adopted. She just honestly didn't consider it much anymore. He was her son; he had been her son since just after his birth. He was as much a part of her as if she'd given birth to him. She let Emma's soft strokes through her hair relax her. She hadn't told anyone her story in years. "I'd never given much thought to being a mother. But I had a woman in my life, a previous lover, and it was something she wanted desperately. After she died, I went to Mr. Gold."

"The pawn shop owner? _That_ Mr. Gold?"

Regina nodded. "One and the same. He has a law degree and he can be a helpful asset if your willing to pay his prices."

"Well, he's a pawn broker by trade so I guess I shouldn't be surprised he jacks up his prices."

Regina frowned. "His fee is hardly ever monetary. The man has enough money to let the whole of Storybrooke live comfortable lives with some to spare. No, he charges you in different ways, favours, prized possessions that would seem to have no value to him. But by the time most people are desperate enough to seek his services, they're ready to pay just about anything. I know I was. It seemed the only way to keep her memory alive, to honour her."

"And so he got Henry for you?"

Regina nodded. "Yes. He burned through all the bureaucratic bullshit rather quickly. I do have to admit, albeit grudgingly, that the man is good at procuring things." She smiled. "I'll never forget the first time I held him. He was so small and precious, this beautiful gurgling thing wrapped in a blanket. I named him Henry, after my father. Henry James Mills.

"They wouldn't tell me much about where he'd come from. Gold insisted that the agency that he'd come from had sealed the records. I had a clean bill of health for the mother, no substance abuse problems during pregnancy, no abnormalities in any of her blood tests. Whoever she is, she was a fairly healthy woman when she gave birth to him."

"We're you ever afraid she'd come around?"

"Of course. I spent the first two years of his life always looking over my shoulder, suspicious of everyone. I would take him with me to work; I had a bassinet and later a playpen set up in my office. I was too paranoid to trust even Katherine back then. It wasn't until he got sick that I realised I had bigger concerns than her showing up wanting to be in his life." She pursed her lips. "I had gotten smart; one time dealing with Gold was my limit. So I called an attorney here in Boston, high profile and had him contact the agency Gold had used to get Henry and see if he could find the birth mother."

Emma frowned, her fingers pausing mid-stroke. "But I thought you just said you don't want her in Henry's life."

Regina sighed. "I didn't; I don't. In truth, I blamed her. He was sick and she was this big question mark in his past. In my mind, I made her wholly responsible for the negative direction of his health. Cancer can be hereditary. I wanted to find her and throw it in her face. I wanted that ever present unanswerable _'why?'_ answered. I wanted to pick apart her life so I could find one little thing she'd done that would answer why my baby had to suffer."

Regina choked on her words and it was only then that Emma realised the woman was fighting back tears.

Emma pressed a kiss to the top of her head and smoothed it into her hair. "Shh, baby, it's okay." She wrapped her arms just a little more tightly around the brunette.

"No matter how much he tried, my lawyer was unable to get the agency to release anything from her case. It was highly confidential, no access. Finally, I gave up. My anger died down to a small ember and I learned to let go. She couldn't even take care of him healthy, how would she have been able to take care of him like this? I took comfort in that, knowing that I could make his life comfortable. Maybe that's why he came to me; maybe he needed **me** just as much as I needed him."

"He did; he does." Emma nuzzled Regina's hair.

Regina hooked her arm up around Emma's neck, dragging the younger woman's head down so she could kiss her properly.

Emma fell into the kiss, getting lost in the feel of the older woman's mouth against her own. When Regina's tongue slid across her bottom lip in askance, she didn't object. Neither did she protest when the woman moved over the top of her and nimble fingers found their way past the barriers of denim and then lace to the soaked heat contained within. With an adroit tongue plundering her mouth and skilled fingers doing delicious things inside her, all speech was left behind them.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Their room was too high up in the high rise for her to feel self-conscious standing before the window and the whole of Boston with nothing but the lace between her thighs to protect her modesty. The lights were still bright, the sky beyond their reach still dark. The glow from downtown and the surrounding areas encroached out onto the water for quite a distance, making the reflection of the lights seem to glitter with every soft roll of the waves. Beyond their reach, the sea was as black as pitch, an endless fathom that had no surface and no depth, just darkness that swallowed up the horizon.

Regina turned over in the bed, her eyes lazily blinking open from her nap. She saw the blonde standing by the window, her barely covered body outlined in the glow from the city lights. For a long moment, her eyes traced the shadows and contours that the glow cast. "I could get used to waking up to this."

Emma's head swivelled towards the woman on the bed, a small smile on her face. She gave one last parting look to the city before padding back over to the bed.

Regina scooted back just a little to make room for her, lifting up the duvet.

Emma slid in, wrapping her limbs around the older woman's body and pressing a gentle kiss to the hollow of her throat. "Promise me something?"

Regina sought out her lips, kissing them gently as she nodded. "Anything darling, anything."

"Promise me that you won't take this any further, that you won't go behind my back and try to find him without me. I made my choice, knowing the consequences. Let him have what I gave him; let him be happy, without me."

Regina stared deeply into green eyes glassy with unshed tears. Finally she nodded. "I promise."

Emma nodded solemnly. Once again, she could be making a decision that was either the biggest mistake or the greatest gift. But she couldn't think about that now. It was time to let him go, to **truly** let him go, and to open herself up to what was right in front of her, the possibility of a life with this woman and her son, of family.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Queen Regina kept a firm hold on her arm, guiding her down the stone steps towards the ground. "That's it my love, just one more step Princess."

Princess Emma winced as she stepped down from the last step and onto the grounds. The removal of the poison from her system had been an arduous task at best, and painful. It had already spread through most of her system by the time the Blue Fairy had begun her work. It was a wonder that she was still alive, but then again, with the threats Queen Regina had lobbed at the fairy, it wasn't too farfetched that the woman had done all she could to keep her alive. With the way the Queen had been ranting, death would have come to the whole realm if Princess Emma had been allowed to die.

But die she hadn't. It had required tireless hours of pain, healing both magical and holistic. But in the end, both her and the child she carried were safe. For the present time at least. Queen Regina still insisted they terminate the child. It wasn't unheard of, though it wasn't exactly common practice either. She had managed to resist for the time being, but there would come a time where the conflict would reach a head, she knew. Right now, her body ached from its ordeal, but their had been no ill effects from the pregnancy. It was enough to placate the Queen. But eventually, that would not be so easily done. The poison still contained within the child would sap her energy from her; it would weaken her. It would be then that Regina would give her no choice. The Queen was adamant, the child would die to preserve the mother.

She leaned heavily against the Queen as they began down the path through the gardens. So far, aiding her recovery had consisted only of short strolls down the corridors in the castle. This had been her first chance to go outside and she wanted to spend time in the gardens before autumn closed in around them and left the gardens barren in favour of filling the orchards with multi-hued leaves.

Queen Regina ordered their escort to wait at the gate to the garden. They would continue on their own, to have some alone time together. As soon as they were out of earshot of the guards, Queen Regina pressed a kiss to the temple of the Princess. "You're doing splendid my love." The smile on her face faltered just a little.

The Princess frowned. "What is it? What troubles you?"

"Your mother and father wish to take you back to their kingdom. Now that you are recuperating, they feel it is best that you be home to do so more comfortably."

"But this is my home."

The Queen's lips turned up just slightly at her words. "As much I said. But they are adamant. I fear trying to keep you here will only serve to make a bad situation worse."

Princess Emma stopped their procession. "You would let them take me? When you know it is not what I want?" She looked away, anywhere but at the dark eyes of the Queen.

"No, Princess, look at me."

Soft but insistent fingers under her chin urged the Princess to raise her eyes. The Queen's eyes were bright.

"I have found a solution. It will solve all our troubles."

"Solution?"

The Queen nodded. "There is a magic solution to this, a way to stop not only what's happening to you, but also to allow us to be together, happily, without the war. Don't you think we _deserve_ our happy ending? We could end the blood feud with this! Isn't that what we've always dreamed?"

Queen Regina's eyes seemed to beg her to agree, and she did. She pressed a soft kiss to the Queen's lips. "It is all I want. To have a happy ending and find a resolution to all this fighting. I want peace, and I want you." She brought the hand that wasn't clutching at Regina's arm for support up and caressed the Queen's cheek. "What is this solution? Tell me."

"It will take us to a different world, together. Our laws will no longer apply. This world will be erased from everyone's minds but our own. There will be no memory of the feud. We can have our peace. We can have each other. And when we go there, time will freeze. It will freeze whatever has infected you, this poison. It will not spread or grow. We can save you my love." Queen Regina was beaming, happy that the Princess was giving this a chance.

Princess Emma's first instinct, her baser instinct, was to be as happy as Regina. But this all sounded far too good to be true. And she had learned many times over in her life to be more wary of things that were delivered so perfectly. "Who turned you onto this? Who told you of this 'magical fix'?"

Regina looked suddenly guilty, like a child about to be reprimanded for breaking proper decorum. "I sought out Rumplestiltskin."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

A/N2:: I worked very hard on this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. That being said, it is most likely the last chapter of this story that will be posted here, at least for the time being. I don't use tumblr very often (I'm horrible at it) but I do use it to post my stories and updates from time to time. Going on tumblr, I found at the top of my dash, a post from readers (as well as other authors) that is "instructing" how to better write. While I agree with and welcome constructive criticism at all times, this was not that. This was about preferences, plain and simple. It wasn't constructive overall, though a few points were, it was about picking out what you dislike in a story. Writers are trying to create different stories and worlds merely using the characters from the show, and sometimes the storyline, as a mere catalyst. There are AU's, there are character explorations. Shame on those who wish to put all stories into a box and disparage people's talents. If you don't like how a particular person writes, don't read that story, that's your prerogative. But I believe it is truly wrong to tell someone that their talent is not up to your standards so it should be changed for your benefit. It feels wrong to me. This used to be about supporting each other's art. But lately it seems to now be about tearing it down. That's not what I post for. If anyone read or contributed to that article on tumblr and feel I am interpreting it the wrong way, I welcome you to tell me so. But my writing is an escape from a less than stellar situation in my home life. It is all I have to get out of my life for a small second in time and it is not for someone else to tell me how to do that. I have enough of that in my home life; I never thought I'd find it here. I do plan to continue this the old fashioned way, pen to paper, just how each of these chapters start out before they're typed up. Maybe I'll continue to post, maybe I won't. But, just in case, Dreamscape and HGTFM, as well as all other stories are on hiatus.


End file.
